android
BadBox malware disrupted on 500K infected Android devices
The BadBox Android malware botnet has been disrupted again by removing 24 malicious apps from Google Play and sinkholing communications for half a million infected devices. The BadBox botnet is a cyber-fraud operation targeting primarily low-cost Android-based devices like TV streaming boxes, tablets, smart TVs, and smartphones. These devices either come pre-loaded with the BadBox […]
Google expands Android AI scam detection to more Pixel devices
Google has announced an increased rollout of new AI-powered scam detection features on Android to help protect users from increasingly sophisticated phone and text social engineering scams. The tech giant says these features come in response to AI-assisted scam campaigns that, according to statistics from the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, have defrauded people of over $1 […]
Google fixes Android zero-day exploited by Serbian authorities
Google has released patches for 43 vulnerabilities in Android’s March 2025 security update, including two zero-days exploited in targeted attacks. Serbian authorities have used one of the zero-days, a high-severity information disclosure security vulnerability (CVE-2024-50302) in the Linux kernel’s driver for Human Interface Devices, to unlock confiscated devices. The flaw was reportedly exploited as part of an Android zero-day exploit […]
Serbian police used Cellebrite zero-day hack to unlock Android phones
Serbian authorities have reportedly used an Android zero-day exploit chain developed by Cellebrite to unlock the device of a student activist in the country and attempt to install spyware. Cellebrite is an Israeli digital forensics company that develops tools used by law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and private companies to extract data from smartphones and other digital […]
Vo1d malware botnet grows to 1.6 million Android TVs worldwide
A new variant of the Vo1d malware botnet has grown to 1,590,299 infected Android TV devices across 226 countries, recruiting devices as part of anonymous proxy server networks. This is according to an investigation by Xlab, which has been tracking the new campaign since last November, reporting that the botnet peaked on January 14, 2025, and […]
SpyLend Android malware downloaded 100,000 times from Google Play
An Android malware app called SpyLend has been downloaded over 100,000 times from Google Play, where it masqueraded as a financial tool but became a predatory loan app for those in India. The app falls under a group of malicious Android applications called “SpyLoan,” which pretend to be legitimate financial tools or loan services but […]
CISA orders agencies to patch Linux kernel bug exploited in attacks
CISA has ordered federal agencies to secure their systems within three weeks against a high-severity Linux kernel flaw actively exploited in attacks. Tracked as CVE-2024-53104, the security bug was first introduced in kernel version 2.6.26 and was patched by Google for Android users on Monday. “There are indications that CVE-2024-53104 may be under limited, targeted exploitation,” the Android February 2025 […]
Crypto-stealing apps found in Apple App Store for the first time
Android and iOS apps on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store contain a malicious software development kit (SDK) designed to steal cryptocurrency wallet recovery phrases using optical character recognition (OCR) stealers. The campaign is called “SparkCat” after the name (“Spark”) of one of the malicious SDK components in the infected apps, with developers likely […]
Google fixes Android kernel zero-day exploited in attacks
The January 2025 Android security updates patch 48 vulnerabilities, including a zero-day kernel vulnerability tagged as exploited in the wild. This high-severity zero-day (tracked as CVE-2024-53104) is a privilege escalation security flaw in the Android Kernel’s USB Video Class driver that allows authenticated local threat actors to elevate privileges in low-complexity attacks. The issue occurs because the driver […]
Google blocked 2.36 million risky Android apps from Play Store in 2024
Google blocked 2.3 million Android app submissions to the Play Store in 2024 due to violations of its policies that made them potentially risky for users. In addition, 158,000 developer accounts were banned for attempting to publish harmful apps like malware and spyware on Android’s official app store. In comparison, Google blocked 2,280,000 risky apps in 2023 and 1,500,000 […]