Smart Phone News / Tracking and Location Services: McAfee: Apps from the Google Play Store were acclimated to clue defectors from North Korea

Saturday, May 19, 2018

McAfee: Apps from the Google Play Store were acclimated to clue defectors from North Korea

Researchers at security software close McAfee accept apparent that a North Korean hacking band has installed a leash of malware-laden apps in the Google Play Store. The targets are defectors who larboard North Korea for South Korea. Once the malware is downloaded and installed, it copies contacts, photos and argument letters from the victim's device, and sends them to the hackers in North Korea. The three adulterated apps accommodate one that deals with aliment capacity and is appropriately called Aliment Capacity Info. The actual two apps are security accompanying and are called Fast AppLock and AppLockFree.The

Researchers at security software close McAfee accept apparent that a North Korean hacking band has installed a leash of malware-laden apps in the Google Play Store. The targets are defectors who larboard North Korea for South Korea. Once the malware is downloaded and installed, it copies contacts, photos and argument letters from the victim's device, and sends them to the hackers in North Korea. The three adulterated apps accommodate one that deals with aliment capacity and is appropriately alleged Aliment Capacity Info. The actual two apps are security accompanying and are alleged Fast AppLock and AppLockFree.

The "RedDawn" aggregation contacts its targets through Facebook, aggravating to get them to accessible the adulterated "unreleased" apps. Once a phone or tablet is infected, it receives commands and uploads abstracts through Dropbox and Russia's Yandex.

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McAfee sees similarities amid the contempo malware attacks and one it apparent in January. A North Korean hacking accumulation alleged "Sun Team" is said to be amenable for both attacks. Advice logs apparent by McAfee from Dropbox and Yandex accompanying to the new attack, came from the aforementioned analysis accessories acclimated by the Sun Aggregation in the beforehand campaign. In addition, the email addresses acclimated by the developer of the new adulterated apps are the aforementioned ones associated with the North Korean squad.

"Our allegation announce that the Sun Aggregation is still actively aggravating to implant spyware on Korean victims’ devices. (The cardinal of North Korean defectors who came to South Korea exceeded 30,000 in 2016, according to Radio Free Asia.) Once the malware is installed, it copies acute advice including claimed photos, contacts, and SMS letters and sends them to the blackmail actors. We accept apparent no accessible letters of infections. We articular these malwares at an aboriginal stage; the cardinal of infections is absolutely low compared with antecedent campaigns, about 100 infections from Google Play."-McAfee

McAfee abreast Google about the adulterated apps, which accept back been removed from the Play Store. The security close additionally abreast the Korea Internet & Security Agency.