Older versions of Android contained various vulnerabilities that allowed gaining root access to the device. Many malicious programs exploited these to elevate their system privileges and gain persistence. The notorious Triada Trojan also used this attack vector. With time, the vulnerabilities were patched, and restrictions were added to the firmware. Specifically, system partitions in recent Android versions cannot be edited, even with superuser privileges. Ironically, this has inadvertently benefited malicious actors.
While external malware now faces greater permission restrictions, pre-installed malware within system partitions has become impossible to remove. Attackers are leveraging this by embedding malicious software into Android device firmware. This is how one of Kaspersky earlier findings, the Dwphon loader, functioned. It was built into system apps for over-the-air (OTA) updates. In March 2025, Kaspersky research highlighted the Triada Trojan’s evolved tactics to overcome Android’s enhanced privilege restrictions.
Read more…
Source: Kaspersky
Sign up for our Newsletter
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox.
Related:
- South Korea: Shinhan Card reports massive data breaches
December 26, 2025
Shinhan Card, one of the country’s top credit card issuers, reported a massive data leak Tuesday. The Seoul-based company said more than 190,000 cases of potential data exposure have been identified that involve merchant partners’ personal and business information. The incident seems to stem from employee actions rather than an external cyberattack. Against this backdrop, Shinhan ...
- Threat landscape for industrial automation systems in Q3 2025
December 25, 2025
In Q3 2025, the percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked decreased from the previous quarter by 0.4 pp to 20.1%. This is the lowest level for the observed period. Regionally, the percentage of ICS computers on which malicious objects were blocked ranged from 9.2% in Northern Europe to 27.4% in Africa. The most ...
- Hackers stole over $2.7B in crypto in 2025, data shows
December 23, 2025
Cybercriminals stole $2.7 billion in crypto this year, a new record for crypto-stealing hacks, according to blockchain-monitoring firms. Once again, in 2025, there were dozens of crypto heists hitting several cryptocurrency exchanges and other web3 and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects. The biggest hack by far was the breach at Dubai-based crypto exchange Bybit, where hackers stole ...
- Nissan says Red Hat breach affected thousands of customers
December 23, 2025
Japanese car giant Nissan has confirmed losing sensitive data on thousands of people as a result of a third-party supply chain attack. In a press release, the company said the recent attack on Red Hat affected its customers, as well, as the latter was commissioned by Nissan to develop a customer management system for one of ...
- US insurance giant Aflac says hackers stole personal and health data of 22.6 million people
December 23, 2025
In June, U.S. insurance giant Aflac disclosed a data breach where hackers stole customers’ personal information, including Social Security numbers and health information, without saying how many victims were affected. On Tuesday, the company confirmed it has begun notifying around 22.65 million people whose data was stolen during the cyberattack. In a filing with the Texas ...
- From cheats to exploits: Webrat spreading via GitHub
December 23, 2025
In early 2025, security researchers uncovered a new malware family named Webrat. Initially, the Trojan targeted regular users by disguising itself as cheats for popular games like Rust, Counter-Strike, and Roblox, or as cracked software. In September, the attackers decided to widen their net: alongside gamers and users of pirated software, they are now targeting inexperienced ...