Alien' spy downloads malware Predator program on Android devices, Google warns.

 Alien' spy downloads malware Predator program on Android devices, Google warns.

malware 

Android users around the world have been targeted by a new spy called "ALIEN", which can load malware "PREDATOR" or virus. Spyware was allegedly developed by a company called Cyrtos in Northern Macedonia. Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) has confirmed at least three active campaigns in the field. Google alleges that many of the malicious activities that fall under the category of Alien spyware, were compiled by one commercial monitoring company, Cyrtos, and sold to various government-sponsored groups. Online security research firm Citizen Lab has also received numerous attacks, and Google claims it is all linked to Alien spyware. Google claims that 0-day activities based on Alien spy are used as well as other old exploits. It seems that the developers of the malware want to take advantage of the time difference between when certain critical bugs are identified but can be marked as security issues and where these patches are fully utilized in the Android ecosystem. The virus seems to spread mainly through emails. Victims receive email messages with suspicious links. Any links redirect victims to a website that includes malware. It then proceeded to load its main load, which is the Predator virus before opening the website it was originally intended for. Google says: All three [spy] campaigns have delivered one-time links that mimic URL shortcuts services to targeted Android users via email. Campaigns were limited - in each case, we checked the target number of tens of users. Once clicked, the link redirects the target to the attacker's domain that delivered the tasks before redirecting the browser to the official website. The virus can record audio, hide applications, and perform several dirty tasks. Google claims to have sent the episodes to fix the risk. However, it is important for Android users to remain vigilant about opening emails from unfamiliar sources. In addition, email users should never click on links embedded in emails without verifying the authenticity of the sender.