Security News > 2023 > May > Cybercrime gang pre-infects millions of Android devices with malware
Trend Micro has not elaborated on how Lemon Group infects devices with the malicious firmware containing Guerilla but clarified that the devices its analysts examined had been re-flashed with new ROMs. The analysts identified over 50 different ROMs infected with initial malware loaders, targeting various Android device vendors.
"The criminal group has infected millions of android devices, mainly mobile phones, but also smart watches, smart TVs and more," reads the description of Trend Micro's Black Hat talk.
Trend Micro reports that Lemon Group had previously claimed on its service-offering site to control nearly nine million devices spread across 180 countries.
"Further, through our telemetry data, we confirmed that there are millions of infected devices operated globally. The main cluster of these devices is in South-East Asia and Eastern Europe this is a truly global problem," said Trend Micro.
Trend Micro suggests that the actual count of Android devices infected with Guerrilla could be higher.
The identification of over half a million compromised devices tied to just a single service offered by this cybercrime syndicate signifies a substantial global reach of their malicious operations.
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