April 2, Help Net Security – (International) Potential first Android bootkit spotted. Security researchers of NQ Mobile recently discovered what might be the first Android bootkit. Dubbed DKFBootKit, the malware piggybacks malicious payloads into legitimate apps that require root privilege. “Specifically, by taking advantage of the root privilege, DKFBootKit adds itself as a part of the boot sequence of the original Android system and replaces a number of utility programs (e.g., ifconfig and mount),” claim the researchers. “By doing so, the malware can get started even before the entire Android framework is bootstrapped.” The apps targeted for repackaging with the malicious payload are mostly utility apps, but a few are also apps that provide license keys for some paid apps. The malware’s final goal is to make itself run earlier than the Android framework, and to deliver a bot payload that connects the device to several command and control servers and waits to receive additional commands.
Source: http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=2051