Tag Archive for: Android

Android P to stop apps from monitoring network activity

In the future, it looks like Android apps will no longer be able to detect when other apps on your device are connecting to the internet.

It’s about time Google patches this nasty privacy flaw. Any app can monitor your network activity without your knowledge to see when you connect with a competing app, or perhaps worse.

XDA Developers first noticed the new changes coming to Android’s SELinux rules for apps targeting API level 28 running on Android P:

A new commit has appeared in the Android Open Source Project to “start the process of locking down proc/net.” /proc/net contains a bunch of output from the kernel related to network activity. There’s currently no restriction on apps accessing /proc/net, which means they can read from here (especially the TCP and UDP files) to parse your device’s network activity.

The SELinux changes only enable designated VPN apps to access some networking information, according to the code. As XDA Developers points out, Android apps won’t have to target API level 28 until 2019 — meaning the flaw could still be accessed for some time.

We’ll be looking for changes in the next release of the Android Open Source Project. Hopefully Google will jump in and patch things before Android P’s future release.

zdnet

Sophisticated Android malware ZooPark tracks all your phone activities

An advanced type of malware can spy on nearly every Android smartphone function and steal passwords, photos, video, screenshots and data from WhatsApp, Telegram and other apps. “ZooPark” targets subjects in the Middle East and was likely developed by a state actor, according to Kaspersky Lab, which first spotted and identified it.

ZooPark has evolved over four generations, having started as simple malware that could “only” steal device account details and address book contacts. The last generation, however, can monitor and exfiltrate keylogs, clipboard data, browser data including searching history, photos and video from the memory card, call records and audio, and data from secure apps like Telegram. It can also capture photos, video, audio and screenshots on its own, without the subject knowing. To get the data out, it can silently make calls, send texts and execute shell commands.

Kaspersky — a company with its own spotty security history that has been banned by the US government — said that it has seen less than 100 targets in the wild. “This and other clues indicates that the targets are specifically selected,” Kasperky Lab’s Alexey Firsh told ZDNet. It also implies that the campaign is backed by a nation state, though the security firm didn’t say which.

How the Malware works

At the same time, Kaspersky suggested that the malware might not have been built in-house. “The latest version may have been bought from vendors of surveillance tools,” it wrote. “That wouldn’t be surprising, as the market for those espionage tools is growing, becoming popular among governments, with several known cases in the Middle East.”

As is now known, a lot of those tools came from the US government itself. A group called Shadow Brokers famously stole exploits from the NSA — some of the zero day, unpatched variety — and eventually released them to the public. In other words, a hacking group was able to obtain malware from what should be the most secure agency in the world. That’s one of the reasons that security experts and companies like Apple don’t trust the US government with device backdoors.

Engadget

Facebook Password Stealing Apps Found on Android Play Store

android malware

Even after many efforts made by Google last year, malicious apps always somehow manage to make their ways into Google app store.

Security researchers have now discovered a new piece of malware, dubbed GhostTeam, in at least 56 applications on Google Play Store that is designed to steal Facebook login credentials and aggressively display pop-up advertisements to users.

Discovered independently by two cybersecurity firms, Trend Micro and Avast, the malicious apps disguise as various utility (such as the flashlight, QR code scanner, and compass), performance-boosting (like file-transfer and cleaner), entertainment, lifestyle and video downloader apps.

Like most malware apps, these Android apps themselves don’t contain any malicious code, which is why they managed to end up on Google’s official Play Store.

Once installed, it first confirms if the device is not an emulator or a virtual environment and then accordingly downloads the malware payload, which prompts the victim to approve device administrator permissions to gain persistence on the device.

“The downloader app collects information about the device, such as unique device ID, location, language and display parameters,” Avast said. “The device’s location is obtained from the IP address that is used when contacting online services that offer geolocation information for IPs.”

How Android Malware Steals Your Facebook Account Password

As soon as users open their Facebook app, the malware immediately prompts them to re-verify their account by logging into Facebook. Instead of exploiting any system or application vulnerabilities, the malware uses a classic phishing scheme in order to get the job done.

These fake apps simply launch a WebView component with Facebook look-alike login page and ask users to log-in. Apparently, WebView code steals the victim’s Facebook username and password and sends them to a remote hacker-controlled server.

“This is most likely due to developers using embedded web browsers (WebView, WebChromeClient) in their apps, instead of opening the webpage in a browser,” Avast said.

Trend Micro researchers warn that these stolen Facebook credentials can later be repurposed to deliver “far more damaging malware” or “amass a zombie social media army” to spread fake news or generate cryptocurrency-mining malware.

Stolen Facebook accounts can also expose “a wealth of other financial and personally identifiable information,” which can then be sold in the underground markets.

Security firms believe that GhostTeam has been developed and uploaded to the Play Store by a Vietnamese developer due to considerable use of Vietnamese language in the code.

According to the researchers, the most users affected by the GhostTeam malware reportedly resides in India, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Besides stealing Facebook credentials, the GhostTeam malware also displays pop up adverts aggressively by always keeping the infected device awake by showing unwanted ads in the background.

All the apps have since been removed by Google from the Play Store after researchers reported them to the company. However, users who have already installed one such app on their devices should make sure they have Google Play Protect enabled.

Play Protect security feature uses machine learning and app usage analysis to remove (i.e. uninstall) malicious apps from users Android smartphones in an effort to prevent any further harm.

Although malicious apps floating on the official app store is a never-ending concern, the best way to protect yourself is always to be vigilant when downloading apps, and always verify app permissions and reviews before you download one.

Moreover, you are strongly advised to keep a good antivirus app on your mobile device that can detect and block such threat before they infect your device, and most importantly, always keep your device and apps up-to-date.

The Hacker News

Samsung releases SoundAssistant app for improved audio experience on Galaxy phones


Samsung has launched a new app to allow Samsung Galaxy owners to customize a wealth of audio settings on their devices.

Known as SoundAssistant, the app offers “150 steps” of volume adjustment, a floating EQ, mono and stereo balancing, as well as the chance to set individual volumes for different apps.

What’s more, SoundAssistant can alter the hardware volume keys so that they default to media volume control rather than call volume. Typically, these keys will automatically switch to control whatever sound is playing at the time, but this can be a little finicky and doesn’t always adjust the desired setting. As a person who usually has their phone on silent, though, having it default to media volume would be far more useful than call volume.

If you own a Galaxy S8 or S8 Plus, SoundAssistant can even allow you to set different outputs for different apps, like using a Bluetooth speaker for Spotify and the phone’s speaker for Clash of Clans.

On paper, the app looks like it could be a useful tool and I expect that many Android users would appreciate the features it offers: here’s hoping Samsung opens it up to non-Galaxy devices sometime (and non-Android 7.0 Nougat devices, as that’s another current restriction).

You can download SoundAssistant via the link below and let us know in the comments what your favorite Android audio customization tool is.

Cyber attacks: how your devices can be used

The massive global cyber attack that wreaked havoc in computer systems earlier this month caused plenty of visible disruption, not least in Britain’s National Health Service.

But in the brave new inter-connected world heralded by the internet of things (IoT), so-called “ransomware” attacks could have as their source something quite mundane and yet present in ever more modern households.

In a not so far-off future, the source of a software glitch with serious consequences for the simple consumer could be anything from a connected coffee machine or refrigerator to a techie toy or an outsmart-you television.

Web-connected gadgets are becoming all the rage with tech-aware professionals.

But the mere idea that it only needs a hacker to give the software a malevolent tweak to send them on the blink with disastrous consequences may yet threaten the development of such goods’ popular take-up.

“Regarding last weekend’s attack there is no risk for connected objects. That in particular hit systems running Windows …and today there are no mass market gadgets with Windows loaded in order to function,” says Gerome Billois, a consultant with Wavestone.

“In contrast, there have already been massive attacks on connected objects,” Billois told AFP.

The Mirai malware strain made from hacked IoT devices including badly secured routers and internet connected cameras recently infected hundreds of thousands of poorly secured connected objects.

The idea was not to stop them from working but to transform them into zombies or botnets with a view to using them as relay stations for future cyber attacks.

Last week at a timely cyber security conference in The Netherlands, American wunderkind Reuben Paul, just 11, stunned an audience of security experts by hacking into a teddy bear via bluetooth to show how interconnected smart toys “can be weaponised”.

His prowess showed just how easy it is for tech savvy individuals to use everyday objects to harvest data or use them as spy holes for covert surveillance.

According to documents released in March by Wikileaks, US intelligence can hack smartphones, computers and smart, web-connected TVs, to pilot them and eavesdrop.

“All the other connected objects can be pirated, that has been shown, be it a coffee machine, a refrigerator, a thermostat, electronic entry systems, the lighting system…,” warns Loic Guezo, a cyber security analyst for southern Europe with Japanese security software company Trend Micro.

Mikko Hypponen, head of research at Finnish security specialists F-Secure, has for his part come up with his eponymous Hypponen’s Law.

This states that “once a device is described as ‘intelligent’, you can consider it as vulnerable.”

Neglected security

The future might well spell connected cars – but they too are subject to potential remote hacking, the consequences of which barely need stating.

When hackers lurking with their laptops have finished conjuring what havoc they might wreak on distant roads there are plenty of other things to which they could turn their attention.

These include vases which tell you when they need fresh water, insulin pumps – or how about sex toys?

So, the worried tech consumer may be asking him or herself – can a cyber hacker deprive me of my morning slug of caffeine?

Or maybe keep my thermostat blocked at 10 Celsius – a chilling thought – or even take over my GPS if I don’t hand over a ransom?

Theoretically, yes, specialists tell AFP.

“The logic of a cybercriminal is to make money,” says Wavestone’s Billois. Such an individual will not feel the need to make do with small-scale attacks.

Connected TVs, having rapidly become widespread, are an ideal portal for making ransom demands.

“Tomorrow, one can imagine devices which attack your connected house, bringing it under control, and then you get sent a message by another channel,” muses Guezo.

All that would required would be to perfect the sort of virus one can find on offer within the murky confines of the “darknet”, off the beaten track for day to day netizens.

Cyber security specialists are very much aware of the need to keep working on solutions offering protection as more and more homes go “smart” and “connected” with various boxes as add-ons to their usual routers.

The specialists’ plan is to work with the makers of connected goods in order to incorporate a security interface right from the start, thereby offering what the profession calls “security by design”.

Some experts feel that, in the rush to bring fascinating and cutting edge technologies into the home, the need for commensurate security has been rather left behind.

“It is extremely difficult to calculate the solidity of a connected object in terms of cybersecurity,” Billois regrets.

“As a consumer it is today impossible to know if you are buying a secure connected object or not,” he adds.

“There’s no label such as a made in Europe kind of tag guaranteeing an object won’t catch fire, or won’t pose a risk to children.”

Fin24Tech

Why You Should Wait Before Buying Samsung’s New Galaxy S8

When a splashy new smartphone hits the market, consumers often weigh whether to place an order right away or to wait and see how others react to the device.

But with the Galaxy S8, Samsung’s first major smartphone release since the spontaneously combusting Galaxy Note 7 was discontinued last year, there isn’t much of a debate. Your best bet is to wait to buy the roughly $750 device — not just for safety reasons, but also because other uncertainties surround it.

Samsung declined to provide an early review unit of the Galaxy S8 to The New York Times, but several consumer electronics experts who tried the device ahead of its release this Friday were cautiously optimistic about the product. Even so, they said the phone had some radical design changes that might make people uncomfortable, a few key features were unfinished and Samsung’s recent safety record remained a concern.

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Hackers can steal your password by looking at how you tilt your phone

According to a team of cybersecurity experts at Newcastle University, the way you tilt your phone could be used by hackers to break into your device.

When it comes to security and the protection of privacy, people often worry about connecting to public Wi-Fi networks, tricking face recognition technology, or bypassing fingerprint sensors. What usually gets left out of the discussion is the multitude of basic motion and orientation sensors that can be found inside most smartphones and tablets today. Well, according to cyber-experts at Newcastle University, we should be paying more attention to these sensors that we take for granted every day.

According to the paper published by the team, they were able to crack four-digit pins with 70 percent accuracy on the first guess and 100 percent accuracy by the fifth guess.

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More university students are using tech to cheat in exams

A growing number of UK university students are cheating in exams with the help of technological devices such as mobile phones, smart watches and hidden earpieces.

Data obtained by the Guardian through freedom of information requests found a 42% rise in cheating cases involving technology over the last four years – from 148 in 2012 to 210 in 2016. Last year, a quarter of all students caught cheating used electronic devices.

Among the worst offenders were students at Queen Mary University of London, where there were 54 instances of cheating – two-thirds of which involved technology. At the University of Surrey, 19 students were caught in 2016, 12 of them with devices. Newcastle University, one the bigger institutions to provide data, reported 91 cases of cheating – 43% of which involved technology.

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Researchers found it is scarily easy to crack Android users’ lock screen patterns

If you use a lock screen pattern to protect your Android phone, it’s a lot less secure than you might think.

That’s the message from researchers at the University of Lancaster, who have put out a paper explaining how they were able to reconstruct people’s lock screen patterns with a high degree of accuracy by using discretely captured footage. (You can check out the full study below.) Read more