Google confirms list of phones with pre-installed malware

Google just published a list of smartphones that has been pre-installed with a dangerous malware.

Android icon

Pre-installed Malware on select Android phones

Android is one half of the two OSes dominating the smartphone market with the other one being Apple's iOS. It is said to be running in over two billion devices across the globe. However, Android is no stranger to security risks.

There's the PreAMo malware that was present in 6 Android apps that were downloaded over 90 million times. There are also reports of over 50 malware-filled apps on the Google Play Store that infected around 30 million devices.

Now, Google revealed a list of budget Android devices that have malware pre-installed. The malware is called Triada and it was believed to be injected into the smartphones during the supply chain process.

The search giant added that the malware was already in the device even before it comes out of the box.

Triada is capable of stealing important data such from banking apps, intercept chat messages and hack social media accounts as well as directly spy on users via their phones. Triada's makers earned money from ad revenues displayed by the spam apps.

As Google tried to trump Triada's ways of rooting trojans in to the device, the malware adapted and utilized a system image backdoor.

Here are the phones infected by Triada:

• Leagoo M5
• Leagoo M5 Plus
• Leagoo M5 Edge
• Leagoo M8
• Leagoo M8 Pro
• Leagoo Z5C
• Leagoo T1 Plus
• Leagoo Z3C
• Leagoo Z1C
• Leagoo M9
• ARK Benefit M8
• Zopo Speed 7 Plus
• UHANS A101
• Doogee X5 Max
• Doogee X5 Max Pro
• Doogee Shoot 1
• Doogee Shoot 2
• Tecno W2
• Homtom HT16
• Umi London
• Kiano Elegance 5.1
• iLife Fivo Lite
• Mito A39
• Vertex Impress InTouch 4G
• Vertex Impress Genius
• myPhone Hammer Energy
• Advan S5E NXT
• Advan S4Z
• Advan i5E
• STF AERIAL PLUS
• STF JOY PRO
• Tesla SP6.2
• Cubot Rainbow
• EXTREME 7
• Haier T51
• NOA H6, Pelitt T1 PLUS
• Prestigio Grace M5 LTE
• BQ 5510

Thankfully, OEMs worked with Google and provided system images with security updates to remove the infection.

Update: Following the report about phones with pre-installed malware, homegrown Cherry Mobile told GIZGUIDE the issue had been addressed already earlier last year via over-the-air (OTA) update.

Since Cherry Mobile is also a technology partner of the US-based firm, the company continues to work closely with Google to assure all of its phones are malware-free. 

Google is also offerring Google Play Protect to help Android users keep their devices safe and secure. It runs a safety check on apps from the Google Play Store before you download them. It checks your device for potentially harmful apps, which are sometimes called malware, from other sources. 

Cherry Mobile also stressed that it strengthened its certification processes to prevent malware on its devices.

The Cherry phones included before are the Cherry Mobile Flare S5, Cherry Mobile Flare J2S, and Cherry Mobile Flare P1.

What do you guys think?

Source: Express