Security News

"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.

"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 - aka Modding - are designed to perform functions not originally conceived or intended by the app developers, and FMWhatsApp allows users to customize the app with different themes, personalize icons, and hide features like last seen, and even deactivate video calling features.

The latest version of Triada slips onto phones via an advertising software development kit used to monetize the third-party FM WhatsApp Android mobile app. The app, only available via unofficial third-party app stores, is one of many popular WhatsApp mods that allow users to add functionality to Facebook's WhatsApp messenger.

Security researchers have discovered the sophisticated Triada Trojan in the firmware of more than 40 low-cost Android smartphone models. read more

Several low-cost Android device models were recently found to feature the Triada Trojan built into their firmware, Dr. Web security researchers say. read more

New variants of the Triada and Horde mobile malware have emerged with capabilities that evade native security on Android devices.