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ANDYROID EMULATOR ADWARE CODE
Code snippet showing how HiddenMiner prevents removal of device administrator privileges
ANDYROID EMULATOR ADWARE ANDROID
It takes advantage of a bug found in Android operating systems except Nougat (Android 7.0) and later versions.įigure 6. In HiddenMiner’s case, victims cannot remove it from device administrator as the malware employs a trick to lock the device’s screen when a user wants to deactivate its device administrator privileges. Users can't uninstall an active system admin package until device administrator privileges are removed first. Code snippet showing how HiddenMiner mines Monero Code snippet showing how HiddenMiner bypasses Android emulators based on our sandboxing detection and analysisįigure 5. It checks if it’s running on an emulator by abusing an Android emulator detector found on Github.įigure 4. HiddenMiner also has anti-emulator capabilities to bypass detection and automated analysis. An illustration of how HiddenMiner hides itself: an empty app label and transparent icon after installation (left), then disappearing once granted device administration permissions (right) The DoubleHidden Android adware employs similar techniques.įigure 3. Note that the malware will hide itself and automatically run with device administrator permission until the next device boot. Once activated as device administrator, it will hide the app from the app launcher by calling setComponentEnableSetting(). HiddenMiner uses several techniques to hide itself in devices, such as emptying the app label and using a transparent icon after installation. The malicious app’s screen requiring users to activate it as device administrator
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Once granted permission, HiddenMiner will start mining Monero in the background.įigure 2.
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It will persistently pop up until victims click the Activate button. It requires users to activate it as a device administrator.
ANDYROID EMULATOR ADWARE UPDATE
HiddenMiner poses as a legitimate Google Play update app, popping up as complete with Google Play’s icon. Screenshot for one Monero wallet address’s status So far, it’s affecting users in India and China, but it won’t be a surprise if it spreads beyond both countries.įigure 1. HiddenMiner is found in third-party app marketplaces. In fact, Loapi’s technique of locking the screen after revoking device administration permissions is analogous to HiddenMiner’s. This is similar to the Loapi Monero-mining Android malware, which other security researchers observed to have caused a device’s battery to bloat. Given HiddenMiner’s nature, it could cause the affected device to overheat and potentially fail. There is no switch, controller or optimizer in HiddenMiner’s code, which means it will continuously mine Monero until the device’s resources are exhausted. HiddenMiner uses the device’s CPU power to mine Monero. This indicates a rather active campaign of using infected devices to mine cryptocurrency. We further delved into HiddenMiner and found the Monero mining pools and wallets connected to the malware, and learned that one of its operators withdrew 26 XMR (or US$5,360 as of March 26, 2018) from one of the wallets. This Monero-mining Android app’s self-protection and persistence mechanisms include hiding itself from the unwitting user and abusing the Device Administrator feature (a technique typically seen in SLocker Android ransomware). Trend Micro detects this as ANDROIDOS_HIDDENMINER. We uncovered a new Android malware that can surreptitiously use the infected device's computing power to mine Monero.