Android app Songs, built by Indian developer, caught mining for Bitcoins

A new security report from Trend Micro has said that some apps on the Google Play Store are running malware that allows them to mine for Bitcoins. The report is accessible on the blog here. According to security researcher Veo Zhang, who wrote the blogpost on Trend Micro, initially researchers had detected a new Android Malware called ANDROIDOS_KAGECOIN.HBT which had cryptocurrency mining capabilities. The blog notes that this mining capability also affects battery life, increased wear and tear, etc for the smartphones as well. The researchers originally found ANDROIDOS_KAGECOIN as repacked copies of popular apps such as Football Manager Handheld and TuneIn Radio and it was hidden in the Google Mobile Ads portion of the app. According to the post, while the earlier apps were outside Google Play Store, they have also found apps inside the Play Store that have the capabilities to mine for various kinds of cyber currency from Bitcoins to Dogecoins, etc. Two of the apps mentioned in the post via screenshots are Songs and Prized-Real Rewards and Prizes. The report notes that “analysing the code of these apps reveal the crypto-currency mining code inside them and that the mining occurs when the device is charging.” The blogpost says, that Trend Micro “believes that with thousands of affected devices, cybercriminal accumulated a great deal of Dogecoins.” The company says that they have informed the Google Play security team about this issue. While Prized doesn’t appear to be on the Google Play Store, Song is still available. According to a TOI report, “On the Play Store, clicking on the developer’s website specified in the description page of Songs led to an error. While the developer was listed as “Da Xpert” for the app, the email address of the app hinted it was created by one Mukesh Verma.”