Security News

Google to Auto-Reset Unused Android App Permissions for Billions of Devices
2021-09-19 22:35

Google on Friday said it's bringing an Android 11 feature that auto-resets permissions granted to apps that haven't been used in months, to devices running Android versions 6 and above. The expansion is expected to go live later this year in December 2021 and enabled on Android phones with Google Play services running Android 6.0 or higher, which the company said should cover "Billions more devices." Google officially released Android 6.0 Marshmallow on October 5, 2015.

Billions more Android devices will reset risky app permissions
2021-09-17 17:00

Google announced today that support for a recently released Android privacy protection feature would be backported to billions of devices running older Android versions later this year. When this feature starts rolling out to older Android devices, it will be made available on all devices with Google Play services and running Android 6.0 up to and including Android 10.

Microsoft shares fix for 'camera upload is paused' Android OneDrive error
2021-09-15 16:52

Microsoft says a OneDrive issue prevents some Android users from uploading photos and videos from their camera roll to the cloud. OneDrive Android customers impacted by this problem are seeing "Camera upload is paused. To activate camera upload, give OneDrive permission to access your photos and media." errors.

Windows 11 Android support spotted online ahead of launch
2021-09-12 22:20

Microsoft has confirmed that Android apps are coming to Windows 11 and users will be able to try mobile apps on the desktop operating system soon, but the general availability has been delayed. Ahead of the beta testing with Insiders, Microsoft has already published the placeholder for the Android subsystem in the Microsoft Store.

SOVA, Worryingly Sophisticated Android Trojan, Takes Flight
2021-09-10 16:25

A new Android banking trojan named SOVA is under active development, researchers said, and it has big dreams even in its infancy stage. "Regarding the development, SOVA also stands out for being fully developed in Kotlin, a coding language supported by Android and thought by many to be the future of Android development," according to ThreatFabric.

SOVA: New Android Banking Trojan Emerges With Growing Capabilities
2021-09-10 03:24

A mix of banking applications, cryptocurrency wallets, and shopping apps from the U.S. and Spain are the target of a newly discovered Android trojan that could enable attackers to siphon personally identifiable information from infected devices, including banking credentials and open the door for on-device fraud. Dubbed S.O.V.A., the current version of the banking malware comes with myriad features to steal credentials and session cookies through web overlay attacks, log keystrokes, hide notifications, and manipulate the clipboard to insert modified cryptocurrency wallet addresses, with future plans to incorporate on-device fraud through VNC, carry out DDoS attacks, deploy ransomware, and even intercept two-factor authentication codes.

BladeHawk Attackers Target Kurds with Android Apps
2021-09-09 11:26

Attackers have been targeting the Kurdish ethic group for more than a year through an Facebook-based spyware campaign that disguises backdoors in legitimate Android apps, researchers have found. The campaign disguises the 888 RAT in Android apps using dedicated Facebook profiles, researchers aid.

Android 12 adds AI and machine learning with Private Compute Core but keeps your data secure
2021-08-31 14:33

Figure A. Outside of the features Private Compute Core will bring to your device, one of the more important things it does is store data separate from all apps and services, while making that data available to the operating system when required. With Private Compute Core at work, that data is processed within its own sandbox, away from everything else, and then the captions are presented for your viewing.

Google App bug blocks Android users from receiving, making calls
2021-08-30 19:45

Google says that users of some Android phone models are affected by a Google App bug preventing them from making and receiving calls. "After the latest update to the Google Search App on Android, the users of certain mobile phones are experiencing difficulty in receiving and making calls," a Google community manager said earlier today.

Modified Version of WhatsApp for Android Spotted Installing Triada Trojan
2021-08-24 22:10

"The Trojan Triada snuck into one of these modified versions of the messenger called FMWhatsApp 16.80.0 together with the advertising software development kit," researchers from Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky said in a technical write-up published Tuesday. Modified versions of legitimate Android apps - a practice called Modding - are designed to perform functions not originally conceived or intended by the app developers.