Danish security firm Heimdal has uncovered an Android malware named Mazar, which can wipe out all of your phone's data in a single text.
Heimdal reveals in a blogpost that this trojan can gain administrator rights on Android phones. This can then delete the phone's contents and make rogue calls or send out messages.
Heimdal explains that users may get a harmless-looking text message that contains a link to a multimedia message. This link then covertly downloads Tor software into their phones. Tor allows for anonymous Internet connections so as to hide the source of this malevolent software. Subsequently, Mazar is then downloaded via Tor.
This malicious SMS reads: "You have received a multimedia message from +[country code] [sender number]. Follow the link https://www.mmsforyou[.]net/mms.apk to view the message."
The security firm thinks that more than 100,000 phones in Denmark have received the malicious message containing Mazar. Heimdal is not sure, though, whether the malware has already spread to other parts of the globe.
The firm likewise warns that MazarBOT is a sophisticated and nasty form of malware. It says that many factors suggest this Android trojan was made to target Internet banking clients. Additionally, it believes it will most possibly grow into circumventing a lot of online banking protection solutions.
"It can do a lot of damage – maybe running up a big phone bill for which the customer would be liable," Morten Kjaersgaard, chief executive of Heimdal told the BBC.
The company tested devices running Android Kitkat, although Kjaersgaard is also convinced the problem affects all versions prior to Kitkat, too.
What strikes this malware as odd, though, is that it does not affect Android-powered smartphones using Russian as their default language.
To stay protected from this malware, a report from BBC advises Android users to never click on Web links in text messages coming from unidentified phone numbers. It might also help if users are cautious about links whether or not the messages appear to be coming from a known contact because this may also be spoofed.
On top of that, another report from Gizmodo believes that applying common sense keeps users risk-free.
If you wish to learn more about this Mazar Android BOT or MazarBOT, head on over to Heimdal's website.
