Attn Android Users! More than 20 Android apps infected with PhoneSpy spyware, here’s how to remain safe

New Delhi: According to researchers, a new spyware could be targeting your Android phone and attempting to steal your personal information. PhoneSpy is a new spyware campaign that now has the majority of Android users in South Korea in its grip, but it will only be a matter of time before it spreads overseas. According to researchers, this spyware does not exploit a device's current weaknesses, but rather hides in plain sight on it by acting as a legitimate programme, such as a yoga teaching app or a movie streaming app.

As per the analysts at mobile security startup Zimperium, the largest risk that PhoneSpy poses to your Android phone are by secretly uninstalling mobile security software. PhoneSpy has been discovered in as many as 23 apps that appear to be harmless and authentic, just like any other respectable Android app. However, it is capable of far more harm than simply stealing the identities of Android apps. PhoneSpy, according to researchers, may gain access to the phone's camera and use it to take images and record movies in real time without the user's awareness. These images and videos could be used for personal or business blackmail, but they could also be utilised for cyber-espionage.

That's bad enough, but users can keep vigilant by recognising some peculiar behaviours when they download PhoneSpy-infected programmes by accident. Excessive on-device permissions are requested by these apps, which should raise a red flag for you. However, if you fail to notice this and grant these apps the permissions they want, PhoneSpy will be able to control and hide itself from your phone's app menu while tracking you in the background. Users can't stop PhoneSpy from stealing since the apps aren't accessible in the app menu, Zimperium's Richard Melick told TechCrunch.

PhoneSpy is still missing from the Google Play Store, according to reports. It wasn't even available in other Android app stores. However, experts claim that spyware is spreading to phones via tactics such as web traffic redirection or social engineering. Simply told, these are several strategies used by attackers to entice consumers to execute specific behaviours in exchange for a reward, but the victims end up downloading bogus programmes. There's also a good probability that victims will divulge personal and confidential information while doing these tasks.

According to Zimperium, the number of victims currently stands at 1,000, but they are all in South Korea. But who knows when it will expand and claim more unsuspecting Android users? PhoneSpy is difficult to track because it belongs to the category of malware that masquerades as legal programmes. It also resembles earlier identified spyware and stalkware programmes, which researchers believe could be a means for attackers to compile and mix distinct functionalities from other programmes. Using off-the-shelf programming makes it simple to conceal the spyware's identity.

Although Zimperium claims to have alerted authorities in South Korea and the United States, the spyware remains active and rapidly expanding. So, if you don't want your data to be taken for any reason, stay away from questionable apps.