This android malware worse than hummer

[universal4]

http://www.zdnet.com/article/this-an...00000-a-month/

I have not been able to discover if this was a variant or even an improvement of the malware posted about last week called hummer, but this one is called hummingbad so not sure if that is a coincidence or not. This also could be the original malware renamed but I trust a bit more about what I have read about this recent one since much of the research was done by checkpoint.

It is reported to have had 85 million victims so it is certainly more widespread. (China, India, the Phillipines, and Indonesia account for over half of the infections, which allows for only 40 million or so infections on other countries)

One of the really bad points about this is that infections by "drive-by downloads" are happening, which means that just by visiting infected sites the device is at risk of getting the malware.

This malware installs as a root kit similar to hummer I think and thus making getting rid of it quite difficult.

It only makes sense for the malware writers to continue to target android and IOS more over time as the marketshare continues to increase.

Rick
Universal4

Edited to add: It certainly does appear that hummingbad and hummer are different malwares with hummingbad to have larger infection rates, but a higher concentration in the Pacific rim possibly. They are both really bad and install as root kits.

It seems that the phone and pad markets need much more coverage and the companies that create anti-malware/anti-virus offerings need to expand and mature that segment rapidly.

[KimKim]

Is Shedun is the alternative name for this malware? Like is Hummingbad is the same as Shedun?

[universal4]

Good catch, according to this article at Ars Technica they are at least similar.
http://arstechnica.com/security/2016...droid-devices/

According to the article "Lookout" are the ones that say it is the same malware, although CheckPoint has not come admitted that and in fact has made a statement disputing this as fact.

Update Jul 11 2016 8:32: On Monday, a Checkpoint representative disputed Lookout's contention and pointed to this blog post from security firm Eleven Paths as support. The blog post said HummingBad "uses a completely different infrastructure with little in common" with Shedun. In an e-mail, a Lookout representative stood by its analysis and said company researchers planned to publish an in-depth response in the coming days.

Whether the malware is not the same is not near as important as the fact that the list of malware affecting mobile devices has grown dramatically over the past few months, and since a few of them have broken the 10 million infections thresholds this is serious.

I know some may accuse me of being "old school" but since mobile malware as well as COMBATTING the malware is still in the early stages, I feel more comfortable with the fact that I use my phones as PHONES to interact by voice and a little text, and rarely run ANY apps.

I rarely visit websites on them unless I am on the road and need to look something up, such as research on a product I am currently considering buying, or maybe GPS/directions.

I do run a specific server monitoring app on both phones, but that is about it. (NEVER banking)

I am much more comfortable visiting websites and trying out applications and downloads on a pc as I have YEARS and years of experience fighting and removing malware and viruses, so my comfort level is much higher on a pc.

Over time, as the anti bad stuff market matures, my feelings may change, but for now not.

Think about it, if you need to wipe the memory, as well as the ROM on the phone (only way to remove a root kit), can you just pop in the dvd and do a few reload on your phone?

Rick
Universal4

[Renee]

At first I thought you were being funny then I realised it's hummingBAD not to be confused with the OS version hummingBIRD.

[ocreditor]

Wow serious stuff...