New research has found that some streaming devices and dozens of Android and iOS apps are secretly being used for fraud and other cybercrime.
, there are certain things you wouldn’t expect it to do. It shouldn’t secretly be laced with malware or start communicating with servers in China when it’s powered up. It definitely should not be acting as a node in an organized crime scheme making millions of dollars through fraud. However, that’s been the reality for thousands of unknowing people who own cheap Android TV devices.
Human Security’s research is divided into two areas: Badbox, which involves the compromised Android devices and the ways they are involved in fraud and cybercrime. And the second, dubbed Peachpit, is a related ad fraud operation involving at least 39 Android and iOS apps. Google says it has removed the apps following Human Security’s research, while Apple says it has found issues in several of the apps reported to it.
The TV devices are built in China. Somewhere before they reach the hands of resellers—researchers don’t exactly know where—a firmware backdoor is added to them. This backdoor, which is based on the Triada malware first spotted byof the Android operating system, allowing itself to access apps installed on the devices. Then it phones home. “Unbeknownst to the user, when you plug this thing in, it goes to aHuman Security tracked multiple types of fraud linked to the compromised devices.
Then there’s what Human Security calls Peachpit. This is an app-based fraud element, which has been present on both the TV boxes as well as Android phones and iPhones, Reid says. The company identified 39 Android, iOS, and TV box apps that were involved. “These are template-based applications—not very high quality,” says Joao Santos, a security researcher at the company. Apps about developing six-pack abs and logging the amount of water a person drinks were included.
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