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Bought a brand new Android Smartphone? Don't expect it to be a clean slate.
A new report claims that some rogue retailers are selling brand-new Android smartphones loaded with pre-installed software.
Security firm G Data has uncovered more than two dozens of Android smartphones from popular smartphone manufacturers — including Xiaomi, Huawei and Lenovo — that have pre-installed spyware in the firmware.
G Data is a German security firm that disclosed last year the Star N9500 Smartphone's capability to spy on users, thereby comprising their personal data and conversations without any restrictions and users knowledge.
The pre-installed spyware, disguised in popular Android apps such as Facebook and Google Drive, can not be removed without unlocking the phone since it resides inside the phone's firmware.
The spyware is capable of doing the following actions:
However, this isn't the first time Chinese handsets come with pre-installed spyware. Back in March, the mobile security firm Bluebox found pre-loaded malware on Xiaomi Mi4 LTE. To which Xiaomi said the compromised handsets were high-quality counterfeits.
Late last year, researchers from Palo Alto Networks discovered that the high-end devices from Coolpad came pre-installed with the backdoor, dubbed "CoolReaper," sold exclusively in China and Taiwan.
A new report claims that some rogue retailers are selling brand-new Android smartphones loaded with pre-installed software.
Security firm G Data has uncovered more than two dozens of Android smartphones from popular smartphone manufacturers — including Xiaomi, Huawei and Lenovo — that have pre-installed spyware in the firmware.
G Data is a German security firm that disclosed last year the Star N9500 Smartphone's capability to spy on users, thereby comprising their personal data and conversations without any restrictions and users knowledge.
The pre-installed spyware, disguised in popular Android apps such as Facebook and Google Drive, can not be removed without unlocking the phone since it resides inside the phone's firmware.
The spyware is capable of doing the following actions:
- Listening in to telephone conversations
- Accessing the Internet
- Viewing and copy contacts
- Installing unwanted apps
- Asking for location data
- Taking and copying images
- Recording conversations using the microphone
- Sending and reading SMS/MMS
- Disabling Anti-Virus software
- Listening in to chats via messaging services (Skype, Viber, WhatsApp, Facebook and Google+)
- Reading the browser history
However, this isn't the first time Chinese handsets come with pre-installed spyware. Back in March, the mobile security firm Bluebox found pre-loaded malware on Xiaomi Mi4 LTE. To which Xiaomi said the compromised handsets were high-quality counterfeits.
Late last year, researchers from Palo Alto Networks discovered that the high-end devices from Coolpad came pre-installed with the backdoor, dubbed "CoolReaper," sold exclusively in China and Taiwan.