Android ransomware targeting porn audience
A malicious Android app out there targeting people seeking free pornography who don’t know how to use Google, Bing, Yahoo, or literally any search engine on the planet has been found by US security firm Zscaler.
The app called Adult Player, which isn’t in any official Android marketplace, requires you to download it, allow your device to install apps from unknown sources, then accept the permission requirement which gives it full access to your camera and files. Basically you have to do three security no-nos in a row before you get to install this app.
After it’s installed, it takes pictures of you using the front facing camera (if you have one) locks the phone and demands $500 to get your phone back and presumably not have it email pictures of you to your loved ones telling them exactly what sort of raunchy tastes you have (details are a bit sparse on what the ransom actually is).
Those whose phones have been locked can generally simply boot their phone up in safe mode (on HTC devices you just keep a finger on the screen the entire time the phone is booting up) and delete the offending program. What becomes of your photo however, who knows.
It should be noted this is not a security flaw, this is not a hack, this is not even Android specific, this is users agreeing to lower security, install a porn app, agreeing to the permissions which clearly require camera access, and then getting caught by a malicious app they jumped through hoops to install.
As if not getting your free Google Cardboard from the porn industry wasn’t enough to leave a bad taste in your mouth when dealing with the porn industry, this probably will be the nail in the coffin that ends all pornography on the internet. It’s a sad day for all those amatures and professionals alike in the industry.
Just remember, when installing an app that’s not from an official market you doubly need to read the permissions it’s requesting. Think “why would a porn app want camera and precise location access? Does it need to know the color of my walls and street name to come up with my Porn Name?”
[BBC]
