Up until now, we have been subjected to various kind of malware with the intention of stealing data from devices. However, one of the first prominent malware attacks in 2018 has a different aim altogether — to show pornographic content on apps meant for children. The malware is known by the name of AdultSwine and has hit the Android platform.
Discovered by researchers at Checkpoint, the new malware has been found to affect at least 60 apps on the Google PlayStore. Most of these apps are directed towards children and are reported to show pornographic content when the apps are running. After the malware’s presence was reported, Google immediately swung into action and removed the affected apps from the PlayStore. They have even banned the developers’ accounts on the PlayStore.
According to Google Play’s data, the infected apps have been downloaded between 3 million and 7 million times. These malicious apps wreak havoc in three possible ways:
1. Displaying ads on the web that are often highly inappropriate and pornographic.
2. Attempting to trick users into installing fake ‘security apps’.
3. Inducing users to register for premium services at the user’s expense.
Checkpoint’s report says that once the malicious app is installed on the device, it waits for a boot to occur or for a user to unlock their screen in order to initiate the attack. The attacker then selects which of the above three actions to take and then displays it on the device owner’s screen.
To make sure your Android phone doesn’t have any of the affected apps, you can consider the list that Checkpoint has published for all the affected apps. Also, Google is pushing notifications to affected phones to suggest removing the infected apps, if installed.
