“The Hidden Danger of Trojanized Mobile Games: Protecting Your Smartphone from Cyber Attacks”

Smartphones are not targeted by attackers by accident. They are very well aware that, unlike classic computers, the security of smartphones is very often underestimated by users, despite the fact that security experts regularly point this out.

It is therefore much easier for cybercriminals to sneak an uninvited visitor onto a mobile device unnoticed. For a long time, they have been using fake copies of mobile games to do this. The month before last, according to Eset’s security experts, trojanized applications were the main source of infection for the three most frequently detected mobile threats.

“In the vast majority of cases, users download these voluntarily in an attempt to purchase an online game or other program for free or at a discount,” warned Martin Jirkal, head of the analytical team at the Prague branch of Eset.

At the same time, he emphasized that the situation repeats itself practically every month – the number of viruses spreading through mobile games is therefore definitely not decreasing.

“On the Android platform, we still detect Andreed adware the most, which spreads through different versions of well-known games. We have been observing a greater number of detections since the turn of spring and summer last year. Even according to the latest statistics from March this year, the strategy has not changed in his case. In March, the attackers bet on the mobile games Spider Man 2, LIMBO or Neighbors from Hell,” said Jirkal.

Every tenth detection in March was related to Hiddad.AYF adware. “In his case, the attackers have been taking advantage of the success of the Minecraft game for several months in a row and spreading adware through various trojanized games for the Android platform that imitate this popular online game,” the security expert stated.

At first glance, trojanized applications are normal and legitimate games or various tools, but their task is to spread malicious code. “Most often, their authors offer them on various Internet repositories and warez forums, where users are looking for free alternatives to otherwise paid games in official stores or on developer websites,” explained Jirkal.

“Therein lies the hidden success of adware – users usually do not pay as much attention to it as other, more serious malicious code, and in the vast majority of cases they download it to their devices themselves and voluntarily. Adware should not be underestimated either. In addition to displaying aggressive advertising and slowing down device performance, it can track our online activity and download other, more serious malware,” the security expert explained.

At the same time, the adware tries to act inconspicuously on the mobile device, so that the user does not even notice that his device is attacked. “Once adware enters a smartphone, it is difficult for the average user to detect and remove it manually. In addition, it takes some time for it to draw attention to itself, and the user may not even have a clue that it is on their device for so many months,” said Jirkal.

“They usually draw attention to themselves with a large number of pop-up advertising windows that cannot be closed, by slowing down the performance of the device or by rapidly draining the battery. At the same time, some of these indicators may not be connected by users to the fact that there is software on their device that does not belong there and that can be a risk to their privacy and a gateway to other malware. Therefore, we always recommend users not to underestimate adware and to consider investing in a high-quality security solution that will protect them from it and possibly remove it from the phone,” the security expert summarized.

In the table below, you can find an overview of the malicious codes that, according to Eset’s analysis, most often attacked mobile devices with the Android operating system in the third month of this year.