Everything You Touch On Your Mobile Device Can Be Stolen

Recently researchers at Kaspersky Lab discovered that a dangerous piece of malware has just become more dangerous. It has always been able to get access to smartphones, overlay legitimate apps with fake ones, and steal financial account login credentials. Now, it can also infiltrate the accessibility features on Android devices and become a keylogger.

But what exactly is a keylogger, you might be wondering?

Keyloggers can track and log every single keystroke made on the device. This means if you type anything into any text area of the device, it’s being recorded and going to the cybercriminals. So now, not only can Svpeng make phone calls, get access to administrator functions, intercept text messages, take screen shots, it now can also log everything you do; including get your banking credentials and drain your account. Talk about intrusive!

Always be cautious of installing any app on your mobile devices. Do a lot of research first to make sure you really do want to download any given product. Read the reviews and analyze whether or not they are legitimate. If there are only a few reviews and they are glowing, perhaps it’s better to wait until a few more people are the guinea pigs.

Also be sure to download them from the product’s official app store. While there is no guarantee these are 100% safe, they generally do go through more security scrutiny than those that are on third party sites.

Keep current backups of important data and photos too in case malware does strike. Then it’s easy to restore the last copy to the device and keep your precious family photos. All the data can be stored in the cloud, on a computer, or an external hard drive. Sometimes it will cost a bit, but it will be worth it should you ever need to take advantage of it.

Remember that malware isn’t limited to free apps. Sometimes it is found in paid ones as well.

One more thing; this evolution of Svpeng seems to be pretending to be an Adobe Flash Player installer. Remember, Adobe Flash Player does not exist for Android. Don’t fall for it.

This version also does not steal from those who have their primary language on the device set to Russian. So, if you meet that criterion, you’re safe this time. The malware still installs and checks the language of the device to see if it is Russian and it could have an effect on other functionality, such as speed. However, it exempts those people from the damage it can do.

As of last count, this reboot of Svpeng has affected users in 23 countries.

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