A First: Hacked Sites With Android Drive-by Download Malware

May 02, 2012 By Ali Loney

1 minute read time

May 2, ZDNet ­ (International) A first: Hacked sites with Android drive-by download malware. Cyber criminals often put drive-by download malware on Web sites they have hacked in order to quickly infect visitors' PCs. For the first time though hacked Web sites with Android drive-by download malware were discovered. A new trojan, called NotCompatible, appears to serve as a simple TCP relay while posing as a system update named "Update.apk." It does not currently appear to cause any direct harm to a target Android device, but could potentially be used to gain access to private networks by turning an infected smartphone into a proxy. IT administrators should not a device infected with NotCompatible could potentially be used to infiltrate normally protected information or systems, such as those maintained by enterprises or governments. The device needs to be set to approve applications not from the Google Play store, and the user has to agree to install the app.

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/a-first-hacked-sites-with-android-drive-by-download-malware/11810

Tags: Application Security, AppSec Spotlight

Written by Ali Loney

Ali Loney is a Senior UX Designer at Walmart Labs. She is based in Canada and was the former Graphic Designer at Sonatype.