Do you own an Android smartphone? You could be one of those
700 Million users whose phone is secretly sending text
messages to China every 72 hours.
You heard that right. Over 700 Million Android smartphones
contain a secret 'backdoor' that surreptitiously sends all
your text messages, call log, contact list, location
history, and app data to China every 72 hours.
Security researchers from Kryptowire
discovered the alleged backdoor hidden in the firmware of many
budget Android smartphones sold in the United States, which
covertly gathers data on phone owners and sends it to a
Chinese server without users knowing.
First
reported on by the New York Times on Tuesday, the
backdoored firmware software is developed by China-based company Shanghai AdUps
Technology, which claims that its software runs updates for
more than 700 Million devices worldwide.
Infected Android Smartphone WorldWide
Moreover, it is worth noting that AdUps provides its
software to much larger handset manufacturers, such as ZTE
and Huawei, which sell their Android phones worldwide,
across over 150 countries and regions.
Besides sniffing SMS message content, contact lists, call
logs, location data and other personal user information and
automatically sending them to AdUps every 72 hours, AdUps'
software also has the capability to remotely install and
update applications on a smartphone.
The
secret backdoor is said to be there intentionally and not accidently
or due to a security flaw, although, according to the US
authorities, at the moment it is unclear whether the data is
being collected for advertising purposes or government
surveillance.
Kryptowire says the company discovered the secret
backdoor on the BLU R1 HD device sold by Florida-based smartphone manufacturer BLU
Products, which sells its devices in the U.S., and some
other countries from South America, online through Amazon
and Best Buy.
Massive Amount of Users' Data Sent to Chinese Servers
Based on the received commands, the security firm found the
software executing multiple operations, detailed below:
-
Collect and Send SMS texts to AdUps' server every 72
hours.
-
Collect and Send call logs to AdUps' server every 72
hours.
-
Collect and Send user personally identifiable
information (PII) to AdUps' server every 24 hours.
-
Collect and Send the smartphone's IMSI and IMEI
identifiers.
-
Collect and Send geolocation information.
-
Collect and Send a list of apps installed on the user's
device.
-
Download and Install apps without the user's consent or
knowledge.
-
Update or Remove apps.
-
Update the phone's firmware and Re-program the device.
-
Execute remote commands with elevated privileges on the
user's device.
No, Users Can't Disable or Remove the Backdoor
The backdoor has been discovered in two system applications
–
com.adups.fota.sysoper and
com.adups.fota – neither of which can be disabled or removed by the
user.
On contacting, BLU Products confirmed that approximately
120,000 of its smartphones have the AdUps' software
installed, which is being removed from its devices.
"BLU Products has identified and has quickly removed a
recent security issue caused by a third-party application
which had been collecting unauthorized personal data in
the form of text messages, call logs, and contacts from
customers using a limited number of BLU mobile devices,"
the company said in a statement.
"Our customer's privacy and security are of the upmost
(sic) importance and priority. The affected application
has since been self-updated, and the functionality
verified to be no longer collecting or sending this
information."
Besides BLU Products, Kryptowire immediately notified
Google, AdUps, as well as Amazon, which is the exclusive
retailer of the BLU R1 HD, of its findings.
Google also issued a statement saying that the company is
working with all affected parties to patch the issue, though
the tech giant said that it doesn't know how widely AdUps
distributed its software.
However, According to AdUps, its software featured on the
smartphone tested by the security firm was not intended to
be included on smartphones in the United States market and
was just designed to help Chinese phone manufacturers to
monitor user behavior.
Update: A spokesperson for ZTE USA provided The Hacker News an
official statement from the company, which reads:
"We confirm that no ZTE devices in the U.S. have ever had
the AdUps software cited in recent news reports installed
on them, and will not. ZTE always makes security and
privacy a top priority for our customers. We will continue
to ensure customer privacy and information remain
protected."
