Security News > 2023 > May > Millions of mobile phones come pre-infected with malware, say researchers

Black Hat Asia Threat groups have infected millions of Androids worldwide with malicious firmware before the devices have even been shipped from their manufacturers, according to Trend Micro researchers at Black Hat Asia.

The mainly mobile devices, but also smartwatches, TVs and more, have their manufacturing outsourced to an original equipment manufacturer, a process the researchers say makes them easily infiltrated.

"What is the easiest way to infect millions of devices?" posed senior threat researcher Fyodor Yarochkin, speaking alongside colleague Zhengyu Dong.

The malware installation technique began as the price of mobile phone firmware dropped.

Through telemetry data, the researchers estimated that at least millions of infected devices exist globally, but are centralized in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe.

The team confirmed the malware was found in the phones of at least 10 different vendors, but that there was possibly around 40 more affected.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/05/11/bh_asia_mobile_phones/