NEW YORK: Three newly discovered malware are plaguing the Android platform and infects popular apps such as Twitter and Facebook. Reports claim that the malwares are impossible to remove which would prompt users to replace their infected device if they want to get rid of these malwares.
The three newly discovered malwares belongs to the family of auto-rooting adwares. These malwares have the capability to root any Android device and install itself into the system application. This contamination makes it virtually impossible to remove the malwares and it could even survive after the affected device have been wiped out through a factory reset.
Security researchers at Lookout found out that more than 20,000 popular Android apps were contaminated. Despite this infestation, the affected apps will still appear to be legitimate and therefore undetectable. Known affected apps are Facebook, Snapchat, Candy Crush, Google Now, WhatsApp and The New York Times.
According to Lookout, the three adware families have a lot of similarities with each other but it appears that each of them are independently authored. These adware families are named Shedun, Shuanet and ShiftyBug.
Lookout’s research reveal that the three adware families have infected Android devices in the United States, Iran, India, Germany, Russia, Sudan, Jamaica, Mexico, Brazil and Indonesia.
Security researcher Michael Bentley told Apple Insider, “For individuals, getting infected with Shedun, Shuanet and ShiftyBug might mean a trip to the store to buy a new phone. Because these pieces of adware root the device and install themselves as system applications.”
According to several tech and security analysts, the recent rise of malwares infecting the Android platform have a significant effect in the overall sales output of devices running on the platform.
