New Delhi:
The internet hackers are using the popularity of new film 'Joker' to infect Android smartphones. A new malware has hit Google Play Store via Android apps with hundreds of thousands of downloads. These apps have a sneaky malware embedded in their code called Joker. The malware is designed to silently sign up users for subscription services.
Here is all you need to know about the newly discovered Joker malware.
What Is Joker Malware?
Discovered by security researcher Aleksejs Kuprins, the malware is designed to silently sign users up for subscription services. And this isn’t something users will easily notice unless they diligently check their monthly credit card statements. As many as 24 apps with over 472,000 downloads have been infected by the malware.
"For example, in Denmark, Joker can silently sign the victim up for a 50 DKK/week service. This strategy works by automating the necessary interaction with the premium offer’s webpage, entering the operator’s offer code, then waiting for a SMS message with a confirmation code and extracting it using regular expressions. Finally, the Joker submits the extracted code to the offer’s webpage, in order to authorize the premium subscription," Kuprins said in a Medium post.
Which Apps Are Infected By Joker
If you have any of these apps installed on your own Android phone or tablet—or, technology websites are suggesting that it is better to delete them as soon as possible.
