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Samsung Galaxy S and S2: Security Compromised

Google Play Market Vulnerability and the Attack on Samsung Smartphones

I have not had time to research the found issue properly but all symptoms point to a security breach in Samsung Galaxy S and S2 phones. The purpose of this article is to warn all owners of these phones (it is not out of question that other models are compromised too). I have already filed and sent the issue report to Google, Samsung and MTS (the Russian carrier).

Subject of The Issue

It began with the release of an update for the MTS Mobile Mail application on Google Play Market. It became available for all Galaxy S and S2 phones regardless of the carrier and the country.

Even if you did not have this app installed the notification prompting you to update would appear in your app list anyway. During the install the app asks you for a full access to phone functions including the SMS. This immediately suggest a malicious nature of the app.

After you have installed the app it cannot be removed from your phone via the My Apps list. Any standard procedure I tried failed to uninstall it.

Removing The App

Unfortunately, the standard tools for app deletion won't work on this application. You will have to get use a root explorer to remove all files associated with the malware. Even if you succeed the update notification will still appear in My Apps list so you will have to disable automatic update for this app.

Report

Representing Mobile-Review.com I have sent a report of this issue to Google, Samsung and MTS and as soon as they issue statements in regard to this problem I will post them.

Google Play Market User Reports

The MTS Mobile Mail app already has about three thousand comments by users from overseas giving the app 1/5 stars and complaining about the app installing on its own and that they are not able to remove it. The dates of user comments suggest that the problem has existed for several weeks now.

Back in 2011 there was a similar story that was overlooked.

How did an issue from 2011 made it so easily into 2012? I do not know but this malware update issue concerns both official and custom firmware phones.

Why This Is Malware

Some anti virus software detect this app as a Push Virus. However, there have not been any reports of stolen money or personal or otherwise sensitive data. But since the app request a full access to your phone functions it makes up for a pretty serious security problem. I tried to install this app a second time after removing it with a root explorer but Google Market displays an error.

It is curious but viewing the app description on the Market automatically plus ones it from your account but you can cancel it.

As of the time this article was posted Google has blocked this app and removed it from Google Play Market.

Bottom Line

This is the first story of this kind for Google Play Market that concerns a great many of users around the world who should be aware that there is a malware app that can automatically install itself on your phone. I will complement this article with any relevant news so you might want to bookmark this page to quickly access the latest info on the problem. Remember also to warn your friends of this issue.

In the embedded video I show the installation process and its Google Play market description. I really hope that this is just a hoax or faulty software and the thousands of people concerned are safe. I do not know who made this app but Google is responsible for all the apps on Google Market and their quality. I am waiting for official statements which I hope will follow swiftly.