In the past, security researchers at Lookout discovered Hermit malware used to spy on victims. Now, Google has officially confirmed most of the findings of experts and began to notify people whose devices were hacked by this malware. It is reported by TechCrunch.
Experts believe that Hermit is a commercial spyware used by governments mainly in Kazakhstan and Italy, but the Lookout team also detected traces of the virus in northern Syria. The malware uses various modules downloaded from hacker servers and is able to collect call logs, activate microphone recording, redirect phone calls, as well as access photos, messages, email, and the exact location of the device. It is noted that Hermit affects any version of Android, and also tries to get Root in order to have even deeper access to the gadget.
According to Lookout, victims are sent a malicious link and tricked into installing a malicious app. However, this is not a simple form of phishing aimed at users who are not tech-savvy. Google said that in some cases, government officials behind the spyware worked with victims’ ISPs to disable their mobile communications and subsequently trick them into downloading an app ostensibly to fix the problem.
Google also analyzed the work of Hermit for iOS — the malware uses an enterprise developer certificate to download software bypassing the App Store. It is reported to use six different exploits, two of which were not previously known.
Hermit neither for Android nor for iOS was distributed through official app stores. Google said that it had already notified the victims of the virus and updated the Google Play Protect system built into Android with Google services.
Source: Trash Box
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