Researchers from mobile security firm Wandera has discovered that a new strain of malware called RedDrop is seen infecting the Android devices and is caught harvesting and uploading files, photos, contacts, application data and WiFi info from the infected kits to Dropbox and Google Drive accounts of the hackers.
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Also, researchers claim that they have found evidence of RedDrop submitting expensive SMS messages to premium mobile service providers, making the cybercriminals rich in this process.
The firm has confirmed that thousands of Chinese users and some percentage from UK and Asia have fallen victim to the said virus so far and the infection is said to be spreading at an alarming rate.
Wandera study says that the infection is spreading through adult sites and the malware has the ability to record audio files from the infected devices and sends them to the hackers within no time.Â
Study finds that the malware is being spread through 53 innocent sites and is reported to have an intricate distribution network of 3,764 hosting locations, used to spread the infect reach to a maximum number of end users.
Some RedDrop infected devices were found diverting the users to A-rated websites as soon as they initiate a web research of any kind. And once their visit lasts for more than a minute to the website, the infection is reported to spread further by locking the home screen of the device with some A-rated content.
Apps ranging from games to business tools are being contaminated to carry the malware and there is evidence that Chinese web search giant Baidu and Sky Mobi Android store are both acting as malware carriers.
Research says that more than 250 email accounts are being used to upload the spied data to Dropbox and Google Drive.
