Android malware discovered super - Is Google's platform in danger?

Android malware has long been a very real but limited threat devices. These malicious software packages have been poorly coded, easy to spot, and even easier to remove. But a newly discovered trojan targeting Google's platform looks more like an advanced Windows virus malware than Android. It uses several previously unknown vulnerabilities in the mobile OS uses complex code obfuscation techniques and blocks attempts to uninstall.

Kaspersky Lab researchers discovered the trojan recently, and have named it Backdoor.AndroidOS.Obad.a. This is not a very impressive name for what may be the most sophisticated piece of Android malware currently, as well as the prototype for a new generation of aggressive security around its mobile Trojans. From the moment Obad.a comes on a system, it is designed to avoid detection until it is too late.

The first major Android security hole Obad.a used refers to the processing of the AndroidManifest.xml file. Each Android app has a manifest file that tells the operating system about its structure and components. Obad.a's manifesto is wrong in a way that hides its intentions and provides for the installation.

Even if Obad.a gets a foothold on a system, it keeps most of its encrypted code to identify which make more difficult. The components are only decrypted when needed. For example, the addresses of the command and control servers are not decrypted until an Internet connection is checked.