New research shows at least a million inexpensive Android devices—from TV streaming boxes to car infotainment systems—are compromised to allow bad actors to commit ad fraud and other cybercrime.
Cheap TV streaming boxes seem like one of the most straightforward gadgets out there, but they can come with hidden costs. In 2023, researchers revealed that tens of thousands of Android TV boxes being used in homes, schools, and businesses were equipped with secret backdoors that allowed them to be used in a host of cybercrime and online fraud.
Researchers from multiple firms say that the campaign seems to come from a loosely connected ecosystem of fraud groups rather than one single actor. Each group has its own versions of the Badbox 2.0 backdoor and malware modules and distributes the software in a variety of ways. In some cases, malicious apps come preinstalled on compromised devices, but in many examples that the researchers tracked, attackers are tricking users into unknowingly installing compromised apps.
Malware Security Vulnerabilities China Android Google Crime Scams
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