Joker Trojan, a dangerous Android virus, infects Huawei
Joker mobile malware has been around for a few years now, posing a constant threat to Android smartphones. Once downloaded, this particular breed of virus automatically subscribes you to various premium mobile subscriptions, forcing you to pay an arm and leg monthly without your noticing or receiving any type of warning or notification.
The virus itself connects remotely to a command-and-control server, which takes care of the configurations to get the virus running smoothly in your phone's background processes. Although it currently seems to be limited to subscribing you to a maximum of 5 unwanted subscriptions, there's nothing to stop this restriction from changing at any time.
Infected apps will request permission to access your notifications, which they will then use to intercept and quietly take care of any SMS verifications required by the subscription service. Because Joker malware is consistently mutating and evolving on a near-daily basis, it's difficult to anticipate and eradicate it with any single security patch.
Until now, Joker viruses have predominantly roamed the Google Play Store, preying on unsuspecting Android devices that happen to download the problematic apps. However, it seems that the malware has now turned to expanding its victim base, crossing the gap to Huawei phones for the first time ever (as noted by BleepingComputer).
Ever since Huawei's U.S. trade ban in 2019, the company has been unable to use the Google Play Store on its mobile devices. So, it took matters into its own hands and consequently developed its own AppGallery, an independent app store which has since soared in popularity. And now, AppGallery as well has to deal with the influx of the dreaded Joker virus.
The list of malicious applications included virtual keyboards, a camera app, a launcher, an online messenger, a sticker collection, coloring programs, and a game.
By the time Dr. Web malware analysts discovered the apps infected by Joker Trojans and had AppGallery remove them, over half a million users had already downloaded them onto their Huawei devices—potentially compromising tons of personal and financial data stored on their phones.
So, who's next? iPhones? You needn't fear too much if you are an Apple gadget owner, as you may already know that they stand unmatched when it comes to security in the mobile world. Although, as we also know, nothing is completely safe and online technology has always been caught in an eternal cycle of improving security to keep up with constantly evolving malware.
Read more: How "unhackable" is your iPhone actually?
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