Cyber criminals infect Android devices, mostly mobile phones but also other devices powered by Android, including smartwatches or TVs.
Most have in common that they are on the cheaper side and that their manufacturers outsource production or part of production to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers).
The outsourcing opens up possibilities to add malicious code to products. Third-party threat actors may infiltrate the supply chain to add malware to products.
Trend Micro’s research into the matter revealed that cyber criminals have infected millions of Android devices this way.
Infected devices are turned into ‘mobile proxies’, which may be used for a number of purposes, including the stealing and selling SMS messages, social media and online messaging accounts and monetization via advertisements and click fraud, according to Trend Micro.
The researchers suggest that infections started as the prices for mobile phone firmware started to drop.
Firmware distributors would make less and less and some started to explore other revenue generating options.
Some started to ship with plugins, which could be activated remotely for a wide range of criminal activities. Access to plugins was sold then on underground markets.
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