Android Malware Saga Continues; This Time It Was Used By Russians To Track Military Of Ukraine?

Android Malware is an issue for some time and there are multiple reports confirming various levels of security threat facing by Android and the prominent ones are malware. Recently, another report confirming a group of Russian hackers created a malware for Android smartphones and tracked the details of Ukrainian military by accessing their personal information.

The Android Malware was detected by a cyber security firm CrowdStrike and it was reported that the malware was attached to a legitimate app used by the Ukrainian army personnel. The app was used by the military in their artillery operation but at the same time the malware named X-Agent was accessing phone data including calls, contacts, location etc. and was sending to the hackers. It is believed that the Russian military is behind the malware considering its access to the Ukrainian military.

The CrowdStrike report further said that the app was used by the Ukranian army from 2014 to 2016. Interestingly, it was used by almost 9,000 personnels and the malware helped the hackers to identify the composition, hierarchy and other important information of the force. It should be read in the wake of the on-going dispute between Russia and Ukraine over the territory in eastern Ukraine. There were many face-offs between Russia and Ukraine over the territory in the past.

This is not the first time Ukraine is facing the cyber-attack. In 2015, the operations of a number of power stations owned by the country were halted by cyber-attacks. Ukraine accused Russia over cyber-attacks in 2014 and for blocking government communications by creating chaos in their network. In the era of internet, the attacks are also planned on the internet and many of the countries are maintaining a cyber-force in their wing to both attack and defend.

The Android malware to Ukrainian military is a serious threat to the peace as this kind of attacks can further escalate the tension between the countries. It is the time to start an international arbitration council to bring down the cyber criminals across the borders. As the phrase "netizen" has coined out, it is time introduce cyber constitution and cyber laws uniform across the borders to tackle cyber-crimes and attacks.