Consumers urged to secure themselves from android malware

NAIROBI, KENYA: Hackers have gained access to more than 1.3 million Google accounts by infecting Android phones through illegitimate apps.

Gooligan is spreading at an alarming rate, with reports stating that since the start of this month, it’s been racking up an average of 13,000 new infections every day.

After getting loaded onto the phone, it grabs all of local data, acquires the device's root access as well as downloads one module which makes it capable of stealing the phone owner's electronic mail account along with the authentication tokens of Google which allows it to access various Google items on the user's Android phone without entering a password. The different items are Google Photos, Google Doc. files, Google Suite, Google Drive and Google Play A/C. Gooligan may also infect Android devices via its owners directly clicking on malevolent web-links.

According to John Shier, the Senior Security Advisor at Sophos users can protect themselves from an attack like Gooligan by not enabling third party installs and making sure their phones are always updated with the latest version, as this particular attack only affected old versions.

Since the malware spreads through adverts, Shier advises that uses should always have software security solutions such as sophos free antivirus and security for Android, which is a free tool for security on mobile devices.

On the other hand, businesses can us Sophos mobile control, a security tool for companies that controls access to third party markets on bring your own device (BYOD) scenarios which is common with employees.

“Don't click on unsolicited links, even on your phone. Think of your phone as an extension of your computer. Phishing emails and SMS texts with links to malicious URLs are just as dangerous on your phone”, says Shier. Moreover, If one suspects or can confirm that they have been breached, changing their password and turning on two factor authentication (2FA) would be wise.

The malware causes seizures to Google accounts and If one is compromised, resetting their phone to factory settings can’t hurt.