Agent Smith

A new Android malware has surfaced the Internet recently. It is called Agent Smith, which is likely a reference to a character in the 90’s classic franchise The Matrix. The Agent Smith malware is a very successful Android malware. Cybersecurity researchers believe that this threat has already compromised over 25 million Android devices worldwide. However, it seems that the campaigns of the Agent Smith are concentrated in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan mainly, with occasional activity in the United States as well as Australia.

Propagation

The authors of the Agent Smith threat would spread it via third-party websites that host fake versions of popular Android applications. However, the authors of the Agent Smith have managed to bypass the security checks on the official Google Play Store and managed to get infected applications on there too. Since the activity of the Agent Smith was detected, malware experts have been working on removing the bogus apps spreading this threat.

Spam Advertisements

It seems that one of the principal goals of the Agent Smith is to bombard its victims with advertisements, and this way, it makes a significant amount of profit. This is done via infiltration of other applications that are present on the Android device like Snapchat, messaging services like WhatsApp, and even browsers such as the Google Chrome application. When the Agent Smith hijacks an application, it makes sure that the victim would be presented with a myriad of irrelevant ads once they open the application in question.

This malware is fairly potent and can be weaponized further easily and be used for much more threatening activities such as collecting sensitive data like login credentials and banking information. However, for now, the Agent Smith does not harm the user actively apart from irritating them and potentially decreasing battery life.

Mobile device users often overlook their cybersecurity. Do not gamble with your safety and make sure you install a reputable anti-malware application that will keep your Android protected from threats like the Agent Smith.