Watch out for new Android malware – pretends to be a "System Update"

Be careful what you install on your Android device because a new malware has appeared pretending to be System Update.

IC: ANDROID

Researchers dealing with security on phones said there is a new Android malware, which disguises as a "critical system update" and can take full control of the user's device and steal their data.

Android malware was found in an app called System Update that needs to be installed outside google play, the Android App Store. Once the user installs it, the app hides and secretly sends data from the victim's device to hackers.

Mobile protection company Zimperium, which discovered the malicious app, said that after the victim installs the malicious app, the phone can be operated from a distance.

Spyware can steal messages, contacts, browser users and search history, record microphone calls and ambient sound, and take photos using phone cameras. Malicious software also tracks the victim's location, searches document files, and takes copied data from the device's temporary memory.

This app also skillly hides, but also tries to avoid capture by sending parts of photos from your phone instead of entire photos, and therefore not consuming a large amount of data.

Zimperium chief executive Shridhar Mital said it was probably part of the targeted attack.

"It's the most sophisticated thing we've ever seen," Mital said, adding that he thinks a lot of time and effort has been spent creating this app. "We believe there are other apps like this and we try to find them as soon as possible," he says.

Since researchers have confirmed that the malware was installed outside the Google Play Store, it is suggested that users check well before installing anything that isn't in checked places like official app stores. They note that it is best not to install non-safe applications at all.