A new Android malware dubbed Hummingbad has infected over 10 million android devices around the globe. The anomaly first came to the scene back in February 2016 and reportedly, a young group of Chinese cybercriminals is involved, earning a monthly $300,000 in revenue through ads displayed by the obnoxious malware.
The story was originally investigated by Check Point, claiming their security experts covertly chased the group for 5 months. After tireless efforts, the root behind Hummingbad turned out to be Yingmob, an alliance of computer geeks who were using a Chinese mobile ad server to generate revenue through the malware that has affected over 100K devices in the UK alone, and over 10M Android devices everywhere.
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Hummingbad works by maintaining a strong rootkit on Android devices, enabling it to not only display ads but install fraudulent apps as well. The Check Point researchers have already discovered what repository Yingmob, who is also responsible for a similar iOS malware called Yispecter. The data regarding virulence of the malware is shown in the Pie diagrams, revealing China and India as the most affected countries, while KitKat and Jelly Bean as the most infected Android versions.
Furthermore, rooted devices also enable Yingmob to program botnets that could target businesses, government agencies, or even make the sell the malware to other cybercriminals for unthinkable cybercrimes. It is advised to avoid rootkit your android devices to eschew likes of Hummingbad.
