Rising Threat: New Mobile Virus ‘Andreed’ Surges to 18.83% in September, Targeting Users in the Czech Republic

The virus statistics, which are regularly compiled by the antivirus company Eset, have long been controlled by Andreed. And last month was no different either, on the other hand, this plague went up from 11.54% in August to 18.83% in September.

This is a scary value, how Novinky.cz warned already. This year, Andy has never had a higher share, that is, he has never attacked more terribly.

Andreed belongs to the malicious code of the adware type. The attackers are not trying to steal any sensitive data through it, but they are displaying too many advertisements on the attack device, from which they get a profit afterwards.

This is probably the main reason why this uninvited visitor to mobile devices is still so underestimated. In the media, more violent threats, such as various hate viruses, which lock all stored data and then demand a ransom for their access, more often find a place in the media.

However, security experts have long warned that while Andreed is not as devastating, his infection is certainly not without risk. “Through advertising, attackers can advertise fake messages or link us to dangerous sites containing malware,” warned Martin Jirkal, head of the analysis team at the Prague branch of Eset.

At the same time, people usually install Andreed adware on their own devices, because it is usually distributed through fake applications on unofficial sources. In the past month, it was for example the games Mini Ninjas and Heroes of Might & Magic III.

Despite Andreed’s high share among other threats, two other malicious codes made security experts angry. In particular, it was the malwares FakeApp.AFZ and Agent.FBG, which were in second and third place in virus statistics.

“Regarding the malicious application FakeApp.AFZ, our analysis confirmed that the attackers targeted users who are interested in investing in cryptocurrencies. Also regarding the Agent.FBG Trojan, some information indicates that the attackers wanted to use the victims’ devices to mine cryptocurrencies,” said Jirkal.

He emphasized that the attackers played it safe and used best practices. “They package malicious code into fake apps that abuse famous brands. This is how they spread FakeApp.AFZ, for example, in imitation of applications from IBM or OpenAI. In September, we usually find the Trojan horse Agent.FBG in the quick version of the popular game platform Roblox,” said the security expert.

“Right now, we’re seeing how attackers are increasingly confidently abusing well-known names of mobile games and apps. They know that today’s tech fans like to try everything around artificial intelligence tools, for example. They simply hide the malicious code in an app with a catchy name. Users should not place dubious and overly favorable offers of various applications and tools outside the official sources of the applications. Otherwise, they can always count on downloading content they don’t want on their smartphone. Even advertising malicious code can adversely affect the performance and functionality of their devices and advertise links to sites where they encounter more serious threats,” said Jirkal.

In the table below, you will find other malicious codes that attacked smartphones and computer tablets with the Android operating system in the Czech Republic last month.