01-30-2013, 11:58 PM
PRESS RELEASE: NQ Mobile™ Threat Alert: "Bill Shocker" Mobile Malware Takes Remote Control of More than 600,000 Users' Phones to Send Costly Messages
8:01 AM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada) Jan 30, 2013
Infection discovered by NQ Mobile's Proprietary RiskRanker™ Detection
Engine
Attached to popular apps including QQ Messenger and Sohu News
BEIJING and DALLAS, Jan. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A recently discovered
malware is potentially one of the most costly viruses yet discovered, warns NQ
Mobile (NYSE: NQ), the leading global provider of mobile Internet services.
Newly discovered by NQ Mobile's Security Research Center using the company's
proprietary RiskRanker™ cloud scanning engine, the "Bill Shocker"
(a.expense.Extension.a) virus has already impacted 620,000 users in China and
poses a threat to unprotected Android devices worldwide.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130130/CN50831 )
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121224/CN34262LOGO )
How the Infection Spreads
Based on the findings of RiskRanker, a unique analysis system that
automatically detects whether a particular app exhibits dangerous behavior,
the Bill Shocker is an SDK designed by malware developers that infects several
of the most popular apps in China, including Tencent QQ Messenger and Sohu
News. The infected versions of these apps are further distributed by
third-party online app stores and retail installation channels.
What the Infection Does
Bill Shocker downloads in the background, without arousing the mobile device
owner's suspicion. The infection can then take remote control of the device,
including the contact list, Internet connections and dialing and texting
functions. Once the malware has turned the phone into a "zombie," the
infection uses the device to send text message to the profit of advertisers.
In many cases, the threat will overrun the user's bundling quota, which
subjects the user to additional charges.
RiskRanker, which identifies potentially dangerous apps before they have the
opportunity to impact users' phone bills, has determined that Bill Shocker is
capable of upgrading itself and of automatically expanding to other apps,
multiplying the potentially disastrous effects.
How NQ Mobile is Mitigating the Threat
Because Bill Shocker can be used to send costly messages remotely, NQ Mobile
believes it poses a serious threat to Android users. The inoculation has been
posted to NQ Mobile's cloud-based security offering, ensuring the company's
customers are safe from the threat. With a 63 percent market share in
China[1], the majority of the most at-risk mobile devices have been inoculated
automatically. NQ Mobile has also alerted Chinese mobile carriers of the
threat to prevent its further spread.
As a public service, NQ Mobile has posted an anti-malware app to help
protect all Android users. It can be found at
http://anquan.nq.com/download/ThiefKiller_SubCoopID_0.apk.
To prevent the spread of these kinds of threats, NQ has provided its
RiskRanker cloud scanning engine to China's top mobile carriers including,
China Mobile and China Unicom. RiskRanker has also been provided to Baidu to
enhance the security scanning capability of Baidu Mobile Services.
NQ Mobile technology enables curbing the spread of malware such as Bill
Shocker and variants across borders and oceans. However, this is an important
reminder that these threats are very real and can have devastating effects.
With its proprietary threat detection system that includes the collective
intelligence provided by users in more than 150 countries, NQ Mobile finds
most threats before anyone else.
Tips to Avoid Infection
To avoid becoming a victim, please follow common-sense guidelines for
smartphone security:
1) Only download applications from trusted sources, reputable application
stores, and markets, and be sure to check reviews, ratings and developer
information before downloading.
2) Never accept application requests from unknown sources. Closely monitor
permissions requested by any application; an application should not request
permission to do more than what it offers in its official list of features.
3) Be alert for unusual behavior on the part of mobile phones and be sure to
download a trusted security application that can scan the applications being
downloaded onto your mobile device. NQ Mobile Security users are already fully
protected from the Bill Shocker threat.
NQ Mobile Security™ for Android is available for download at
http://www.nq.com/mobilesecurity and on Android Market.
[1] SINO Market Research Co. Ltd, Q3, 2012
About NQ Mobile
NQ Mobile Inc. (NYSE: NQ) is a leading global provider of trusted mobile
Internet services built on its world-class acquisition, engagement and
monetization platform. The company was one of the first to recognize the
growing security threats targeting smartphone users and now has about 242
million registered and 85 million active user accounts globally. NQ Mobile's
cloud-based trust platform has been recognized by third-party testing
facilities around the world as the most effective solution for detecting and
combating mobile threats. NQ Mobile is recognized as a global pioneer in
mobile innovation and technology leadership. NQ Mobile maintains dual
headquarters in Dallas, TX, USA and Beijing, China. For more information on NQ
Mobile, please visit http://www.nq.com.
SOURCE NQ Mobile Inc.
/CONTACT: Kim Titus, NQ Mobile, +1-972-841-0506; or Eric Villines, MWW
Group for NQ Mobile, +1-214-668-9793
/Web site: http://www.netqin.com
/Web site: http://anquan.nq.com/download/ThiefKiller_SubCoopID_0.apk
/Web site: http://www.nq.com/mobilesecurity