already infect devices in the factory

Cybercriminals are already infecting Android devices in the factory these days. Smartphones, smartwatches, televisions, it doesn’t matter: hackers know where to find them and infect them with malicious software even before they leave the factory.

Original Equipment Manufacturers

Researchers at Trend Micro state that the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), companies that produce gadgets, often pose security problems because it only takes one person on the production line to infect products, and it is immediately wrong. This would not even be recent: this was also reported in 2017, but according to the security experts, this is now becoming a growing problem. The reason? The price of firmware for mobile devices became so low that malware became increasingly interesting.

For example, there is one type of plugin, Proxy Plugins, in which devices are ‘rented’ for five minutes. A malicious person can choose this and then collect data about, among other things, the IP address, the geographical location and keystrokes. It is of course extremely dangerous, because you start with a device that is not in order and the misery eventually spreads like an oil slick on water. In the end, Trend Micro found more than 80 different plugins in their research.

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From the band with malware

It is a creative way to distribute malware and it also has the same goal: to make money with information. For example, the malware ensures that a device becomes a kind of proxy that steals all kinds of information, but also abuses it by, for example, going on someone’s social media and sending messages to other people.

Millions of devices are infected and this is said to be the case mainly within Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. Where does the misery mainly come from? It is not said in so many words, but it is implied. Trend Micro says, “Go where most of the OEMs are.” Of course, that can only be one country: China. But at the same time, the origin of the country has little to do with the criminal practices: even if an OEM is based in another country, these practices can of course take place.

And now?

What now? Trend Micro recommends sticking to major brands in particular, but also indicates that this does not guarantee that Samsung and Google, for example, will not be affected by these types of bad apples. Here too, the following applies: pay close attention when you use your telephone, television or smartwatch and be careful where you enter which data.

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