Beware of Dvmap, latest malware infecting Android devices

Android users, be cautious. There is a new menace preparing
to take down the mobile platform, according to report emanating from Kaspersky
Labs. This threat is identified as Dvmap,
and is not like other malwares available in town and trust Google to shield us
from.

Kaspersky has been observing the circulation of a Trojan
horse in the Google Play Store since last year April. Dvmap has been able keep
itself from the protection and verification mechanisms offered by Google by
regularly substituting original code with malicious code and vice versa. This
simply means the protection introduced in 2012 to keep watch malware from penetrating
into the Play Store, can be easily deceived.

According to experts, this malware, categorized by Kaspersky
Labs as Trojan.AndroidOS.Dvmap.a is a particularly tricky form
of malware. It attempts to gain root access in four different ways, even with
64-bit compatible code. Worse, it injects malicious code into system libraries
libdmv.so and libandroid_runtime.so. Subsequently, the Trojan horse triggers
protection mechanisms to verify and install third-party apps.

This is done by an administrator service called com.qualcmm.timeservices,
which looks similar to a legitimate background service like
com.qualcomm.timeservices. Note the difference between the two service names,
as it is a common ruse employed by hackers and malware advertisers to trick
users into trusting them.

Now, the malware could install third-party software on
infected devices at a later date. The author could offer this ability to anyone
interested, on the black market. Right now, a huge number of devices could be
affected. But so far, only a maximum of 50,000 devices are reported to be
affected.

Theoretically, Google can delete harmful apps remotely from
your device. However, since the malware manipulates system libraries, it could
prevent Google from being able to do so, or report the uninstallation
immediately to the malware’s author. 

The author could then install a different
version of the malware to escape the protection mechanism again. Right now,
only formatting the system partition and reinstalling the original firmware can
save an affected smartphone. 

The only way to prevent this from happening is to
have the latest security patches. However, not everyone gets the updates, as
manufacturers fear that if they do so they will not buy new phones.