Those who have been unable to utilize the power and versatility of the Android operating system were happy to hear that this technology would be available on less expensive mobile phones. Unfortunately, it appears that certain models of these lower-end phones are already heading for trouble. Recent reports indicate that certain Android phones contain a trojan virus known for causing havoc in the past.
Tech website Bleeping Computer reports that over 40 models of lower-end Android smartphones have been found to contain the Triada banking trojan. The trojan virus gets its name due to these viruses often being disguised within software or hardware. What makes trojan viruses especially dangerous is that they’re known to steal user information in addition to potentially making a device unusable.
That being said, there could be a bit of good news for those in North America. It is currently being reported that the vast majority of phones affected with the Triada banking trojan were found in devices primarily sold throughout China. That being said, other countries that were majorly affected by the outbreak of these phones including the countries of Mexico, Serbia, and Poland. Allegedly, users around the world began to report this problem in 2017. However, it wasn’t until this year that an official investigation was launched into finding the root cause of these infected smartphones.
Research was conducted while tracing the source of these viruses that led workers to a company in Shanghai. Unfortunately, this same company is believed to be responsible for a separate malware infection that wreaked havoc on nearly 1 million smartphones in an unrelated incident in 2016 by infecting them with adware before this problem was fixed. It is reported that this company left seemingly bizarre instructions for the use of their applications for these newer Android smartphones that included adding third-party code into system libraries.
To summarize, an incredibly dangerous trojan was found in nearly 40 models of lower-end Android smartphones being shipped around the world. Many of those using lower-end smartphones were excited to learn that Android technology would be coming to their mobile devices. Unfortunately, certain individuals around the world have recently received smartphones that were pre-loaded with what is known as the Triada banking trojan. It is being reported that mainly phones made by the Leagoo, Doogee, and Cherry Mobile are the primary brands that were affected by this virus.
