SMS TROJAN

ADAPTED FROM EDUARD KOVACS
A large number of Android devices in China
were infected with an SMS worm on August 2,
the day the country celebrated Valentine's
Day. The creator of this piece of malware has
already been identified and detained,
according to reports.
Kaspersky Lab said on Wednesday that the

malware made its way onto roughly 500,000 Once it infects a device, the malware sends to devices in just six hours after being launched,
but Chinese media reported that it infected a
total of over 1 million smartphones.
According to the security firm, the threat,
detected as Trojan.AndroidOS.Xshqi.a , has two
components: a spreading mechanism
(XXshenqi.apk) and a backdoor (Trogoogle.apk).
Once it infects a device, the malware sends
SMSs containing a link to all the contacts in the
victim's address book in an effort to trick them
into installing the Trojan. Then, it attempts to
get users to install Trogoogle.apk, detected by
Kaspersky as Backdoor.AndroidOS.Trogle.a.
The backdoor has numerous functions. It asks
users to register the app, process during which
it instructs them to hand over personal
information, and it enables the attackers to send
various commands to the infected device. Its
masters can create and send text messages, and
they can also monitor the victim's SMSs and
forward them to their own servers.
"The fact that this Trojan combination appeared
on the Chinese Valentine's Day is premeditated,
taking advantage of user credulity on this special
day. And it uses social engineering techniques to
spread as much as possible and infect more
devices. This Trojan is a good example of why
it's always worth thinking twice about trusting a
link received on your mobile phone," Kaspersky
researcher Vigi Zhang wrote in a blog post .(SOURCE:SECURITY WEEK )