Android Rootkit Is Just a Phone Call Away

alphadogg writes "Hoping to understand what a new generation of mobile malware could resemble, security researchers will demonstrate a malicious 'rootkit' program they've written for Google's Android phone next month at the Defcon hacking conference in Las Vegas. Once it's installed on the Android phone, the rootkit can be activated via a phone call or SMS message, giving attackers a stealthy and hard-to-detect tool for siphoning data from the phone or misdirecting the user. 'You call the phone, the phone doesn't ring, and when the phone realizes that it's being called by an attacker's phone number, it sends him back a shell [program],' said Christian Papathanasiou, a security consultant with Chicago's Trustwave, the company that did the research."

Re:just like installing a trojan on your computer!

[Anonymous Coward]

This is a dumb idea that would cause massive backlash. It would be like treating all your customers like idiots without the sense to look after themselves. Actually people are idiots without the ability to look after themselves so it would probably take off and spread like wildfire through the mildly retarded public.

Wrong title.

[mallyone]

Should read: Android rootkit is just a fud call away.

Re:Anti Virus?

[Anonymous Coward]

YM:

Apple's way of checking if an app is valid:

1: Does the app use competing products? Yes, denied.
2: Is the app yet another flashlight or fart app? Approved.
3: Does the app mention Google at all? It's outta here.
4: Does the app do Web browsing? Gone.
5: If it passes all of the previous 4, roll a d6. 1-4, approved, 4-6, denied for some random reason even though other apps got approved with the same issues.

Re:So...Your Soon-To-Be Wife Loads up Your Android

[tmach]

If my wife could create a rootkit, I wouldn't be divorcing her!