Android Malware Is Getting Stealthy, Researchers Say

Android malware authors are making their malicious software harder to detect, adding greater encryption to their creations, Symantec has warned.

Malware targeting Google’s phone platform is now using encryption to obfuscate embedded modules so security products don’t spot anything nasty, the security firm said. This technique has been used by PC malware writers for years, but it is now increasingly being ported to the mobile world.

The standard Android API may even be benefiting cyber criminals as it makes it simple for developers to add encryption. “The availability of strong cryptographic functions in the standard Android API makes them an equally easy-to-implement option for obfuscation,” Symantec said in a blog post.

Sneakier Android malwar

Today’s mobile processors provide enough computational power for industry-standard encryption and these strong encryption schemes become a standard component of the operating environment. It seems only natural to expect this trend of encrypting components to consolidate for mobile malware.”

Android has been plagued by malware problems over the past year as hackers have leapt on Google’s platform as many see it as the ‘lowest hanging fruit’. In March, Total Defense, a malware detection and anti-crimeware specialist, revealed a surge in malware targeted at Android had surpassed the operating system’s rise in market share.

Earlier in the year, Juniper Networks’ research discovered Android malware grew by  3,325 percent in the last seven months of 2011.

TechWeekEurope recently discovered how easy it was to create potentially malicious Android malware kit, doing so in the back of a limo.

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