촐처: http://thehackernews.com/2016/11/hacking-android-smartphone.html

 

Pre-installed Backdoor On 700 Million Android Phones Sending Users' Data To China

 

Do you own an Android smartphone? You could be one of those 700 Million users whose phone is secretly sending text messages to China every 72 hours.

You heard that right. Over 700 Million Android smartphones contain a secret 'backdoor' that surreptitiously sends all your text messages, call log, contact list, location history, and app data to China every 72 hours.

Security researchers from Kryptowire discovered the alleged backdoor hidden in the firmware of many budget Android smartphones sold in the United States, which covertly gathers data on phone owners and sends it to a Chinese server without users knowing.

First reported on by the New York Times on Tuesday, the backdoored firmware software is developed by China-based company Shanghai AdUps Technology, which claims that its software runs updates for more than 700 Million devices worldwide.

 

 

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Massive Amount of Users' Data Sent to Chinese Servers

Based on the received commands, the security firm found the software executing multiple operations, detailed below:
 

• Collect and Send SMS texts to AdUps' server every 72 hours.
• Collect and Send call logs to AdUps' server every 72 hours.
• Collect and Send user personally identifiable information (PII) to AdUps' server every 24 hours.
• Collect and Send the smartphone's IMSI and IMEI identifiers.
• Collect and Send geolocation information.
• Collect and Send a list of apps installed on the user's device.
• Download and Install apps without the user's consent or knowledge.
• Update or Remove apps.
• Update the phone's firmware and Re-program the device.
• Execute remote commands with elevated privileges on the user's device.

 

No, Users Can't Disable or Remove the Backdoor

The backdoor has been discovered in two system applications – com.adups.fota.sysoper and com.adups.fota – neither of which can be disabled or removed by the user.