A malware known as Gooligan has been discovered that gives hackers access to remotely root more than one million Android Devices to gain privileged system access. Researchers have found the malware in at least 86 applications available in 3rd party marketplaces. IT security experts from Tripwire and Plixer International commented below.
Tim Erlin, Senior Director of IT Security and Risk Strategy at Tripwire:
“Gooligan is yet another reminder that using third party app stores carries significant risk. The more that we centralize our data into a single account with Google, Apple, Microsoft or others, the greater risk a compromise of those accounts presents. When all the data is in one place, that’s where the attackers will go.”
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Thomas Pore, Director of IT and Security at Plixer International:
“It’s not surprising to see another Android hack headlining as the mobile platform is an easier target for cyber villains trying to penetrate the security fortress around Apple’s IOS. Mobile users are often attracted to platforms running Android because the lower price point for amazing hardware specs are often desirable over other vendors, such as Apple. Android users inherently take on additional risk over IOS users purely based on application security vetting. Apple and Google both do a great job of vetting applications for security, but it’s much easier to install a third-party application within Android that has not gone through a vetting process and this makes Android users a much easier target for compromise.”
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