Threat : Android Simplelocker encrypts SD card files

Before we move on to the real threat that Android smartphones and tablets today, we would like to state that almost a month ago, a security researcher known as Kafeine reported about a variant that prevented Android apps from launching and effectively making infected devices useless. In order to get the device functioning again, a huge fee of $300 payment had to me made via the payment gateway. Apart from this report, there was another issue where Symantec reported about an app that caused repeated pop-up warnings on Android devices which could not be closed easily unless a certain amount was paid up.

According to BBC News, Eset has reported that the Trojan which is known as Simplelocker totally targets the SD card slotted into various smartphones and tablets by electronically scrambling certain types of files before demanding cash to de-crypt the data.

[quote cite=”Dr.Steven Murdoch (University of Cambridge’s Computer Laboratory)”]File-encrypting malware has really proved to be a lucrative criminal enterprise so it is unsurprising that the Android mobile operating system has become a new target.[/quote]

PORN ALERT

Eset stated that all the affected device owners were presented with a message saying that their phone was locked because they had seen and distributed “child pornography , zoophilia and other perversions” on the devices.

They have also stated that there is a prompt where 260 hryvnias ($22, £13, Rs.1,305.28/-) via the payment gateway of the Ukrainian MoneXy system.