New Android Malware Found

Security researchers at Kaspersky Labs have discovered a new malware that affects Android devices. Nikita Buchka wrote on a blog post: "Instead of attacking a user, it attacks the WiFi network the user is connected to, or, to be precise, the wireless router that serves the network."

The trojan deploys the brute-force attack to guess the password and access the device. Once the password is cracked, it modifies the DNS server in the router, redirecting all traffic through their own servers and malicious websites.

What makes things really bad is, as Buchka explained, that instead of affecting users, the malware affects the entire network, which means every user on that network is exposed. Kaspersky recommends checking the DNS settings of your router.

There are currently two versions of the app: one is a fake mobile client for Chinese search engine Baidu and the second one is about WiFi network. It's the same old story where cybercriminals are offering malicious fake apps outside of official app stores. Always use the official app stores. Anyone using official Google Play Store for app installation is safe.

The lesson here is: don't install random apps from random websites.

Serious Bug Found in Ubuntu

An Irish security researcher Donncha O'Cearbhaill found a remote execution bug in Ubuntu's Apport crash reporter that can infect a system with malicious code.

O'Cearbhaill wrote on his blog, "The bug allows for reliable code injection when a user simply opens a malicious file. The following video demonstrates the exploit opening the Gnome calculator. The executed payload also replaces the exploit file with a decoy zip file to cover its tracks."

O'Cearbhaill reports that Ubuntu will open any unknown file with apport-gtk if it begins with ProblemType . What makes things worse is that Apport is installed by default on all Ubuntu systems after 12.10, which also includes forks like Linux Mint.

If you are using any Ubuntu-based distribution, you are vulnerable. The hole has been patched, but it does expose one major problem with Linux: Often such bugs hide for years and even decades, and security experts often lack incentives for finding them. Unlike Google, which rewards such discoveries, Linux vendors often depend on the community.

Commercial Linux distributions like Ubuntu should start a reward program to encourage security researchers to find such bugs. Without enough eyes, all bugs are deep.

If you are using any Ubuntu-based distribution, please update your system immediately.