“A fresh strain of criminal software has been discovered encrypting the data of Android smartphone owners, then demanding payment to unlock it,” Tom Brewster reports for The Guardian. “The Simplocker ransomware scans victims’ SD memory cards for certain files, including images, PDFs and other documents, and audio files, before locking them using the AES encryption standard, according to security company ESET. It’s the first malware found to be encrypting data on Android phones before demanding payment to decrypt it, according to a blog post by ESET’s security intelligence team lead Robert Lipovsky.”
“Lipovsky said that Simplocker appears to be solely active in the Ukrainian region; is not found on Android’s official Google Play Store; and is not currently widespread,” Brewster reports. “He added that the level of encryption used by Simplocker is significantly weaker than that of Cryptolocker, the aggressive Windows ransomware that global law enforcement authorities have been trying to shut down over the past week.”
“Various forms of Android ransomware have been uncovered in recent months. In May, security experts warned about a strain called Koler, which posed as a porn app. It then sent a message claiming to be from police, telling the user they had broken the law by watching indecent material, demanding they pay a fine of $300,” Brewster reports. “Yet Windows remains the number one target for ransomware. The Guardian reported this week that the Cryptolocker malware has infected as many as 50,000 computers in the UK alone.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Attribution: BGR. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
F-Secure: Android accounted for 99% of new mobile malware in Q1 2014 – April 30, 2014
Google’s Sundar Pichai: Android not designed to be safe; if I wrote malware, I’d target Android, too – February 27, 2014
Cisco: Android the target of 99 percent of world’s mobile malware – January 17, 2014
U.S. DHS, FBI warn of malware threats to Android mobile devices – August 27, 2013
Android app malware rates skyrocket 40 percent in last quarter – August 7, 2013
First malware found in wild that exploits Android app signing flaw – July 25, 2013
Mobile Threats Report: Android accounts for 92% of all mobile malware – June 26, 2013
Latest self-replicating Android Trojan looks and acts just like Windows malware – June 7, 2013
99.9% of new mobile malware targets Android phones – May 30, 2013
Mobile malware exploding, but only for Android – May 14, 2013
Mobile malware: Android is a bad apple – April 15, 2013
F-Secure: Android accounted for 96% of all mobile malware in Q4 2012 – March 7, 2013
New malware attacks Android phones, Windows PCs to eavesdrop, steal data; iPhone, Mac users unaffected – February 4, 2013
FBI issues warning over Android malware attacks – October 15, 2012
Researchers discover serious flaw in Android app security, say HTC and Samsung ignore issue – September 28, 2012
Apple’s iPhone has passed a key security threshold – August 13, 2012
Android permissions flaw allows eavesdropping, data theft, location tracking – December 2, 2011
Massive HTC Android security flaw leaves security expert speechless – October 2, 2011
Apple’s iOS unaffected by malware as Android exploits surge 76% – August 24, 2011
Android malware records phone calls; iPhone users unaffected – August 2, 2011
Symantec: Apple iOS offers ‘full protection,’ Google Android ‘little protection’ vs. malware attacks – June 29, 2011
Malware apps spoof Android Market to infect Android phones – June 21, 2011
Google forced to pull several malware-infested apps from Android market – June 8, 2011
Android malware sees explosive growth; even faster than with PCs – April 27, 2011
Virus-laden apps infest Google’s ‘open’ Android platform; iPhone unaffected – March 3, 2011
Security firm warns of new Android trojan that can steal personal information; iPhone unaffected – December 30, 2010
Trojan infects Android smartphones; iPhone unaffected – August 10, 2010
Millions of Android phone users slammed by malicious data theft app – July 29, 2010
Unlike proactive Apple, reactive Google doesn’t block malware from Android app store – June 4, 2010
Malware designed to steal bank information pops up in Google’s Android app store – January 11, 2010