• Kaspersky found new Android devices come with Keenadu malware preinstalled
• A firmware variant gives attackers full control over apps, data, and searches
• 13,000+ infections detected; victims advised to replace compromised devices

Be careful where you’re buying your Android devices – as experts have warned some come preinstalled with sinister malware that can take over your entire device, snoop on your data, make changes, and more.

Researchers from Kaspersky have discovered a brand new malware variant, which they dubbed Keenadu, operating as a backdoor, with varying degrees of compromise, depending on how it is deployed.

What’s worse is that Keenadu is being deployed at firmware level, which means someone installed it below the OS, and before the device was even sold on the market. The experts not how they’ve also seen it embedded within system apps, deployed through malicious APKs, and even apps on the Google Play Store – but the variant deployed at firmware level was, by far, the most dangerous one.

No evidence of exploitation

“In this variant, Keenadu is a fully functional backdoor that provides the attackers with unlimited control over the victim’s device,” Kaspersky explained.

“It can infect every app installed on the device, install any apps from APK files and give them any available permissions. As a result, all information on the device, including media, messages, banking credentials, location, etc. can be compromised. The malware even monitors search queries that the user inputs into the Chrome browser in incognito mode.”

Luckily for the victims, the attackers are driving this Ferrari as if it was a Fiat 500, as they’re using it primarily to get clicks on ads.

So far, Kaspersky has identified around 13,000 infected endpoints, mostly located in Russia, Japan, Germany, Brazil, and the Netherlands. If the malware sees the device’s language, or timezone, is associated with China, it will not integrate – possibly suggesting the attackers are of Chinese origin.

Furthermore, the malware also stops if the Google Play Store and Play Services are not found on the device which, I presume, means HarmonyOS devices (Huawei hardware) are not being targeted.

The malicious Android apps that were sitting on the Google Play Store were removed in the meantime, but researchers advise victims to stop using these devices and replace them with clean alternatives.

Via BleepingComputer

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