Android users: under no condition should you sideload this spyware on your phone! - PhoneArena

Software security firm Zimperium says that a sophisticated new malicious Android app, posing as a System Update application, can create havoc with your phone-and with your life. The app can turn control of your Android phone over to bad actors who will be able to steal messages, data, images, take photos, go through your browser history, record phone calls and audio, view your WhatsApp messages and much more. This is indeed a serious exploit.

Do not sideload this app on your Android phone!

The System Update app has never been in the Google Play Store, a fact confirmed by Google. zLabs researchers discovered the app and after conducting an investigation, it was discovered that it was a sophisticated spyware campaign with complex capabilities. Now we know exactly what you're thinking. How long will it take Pizza Hut to deliver a green pepper, onions and pineapple pizza? The second thought on your mind is that if the app has never been listed in the Google Play Store, how did it get installed on your Android phone? The answer is simple, actually. It was installed by sideloading a malicious app from a third-party app store.

The notification on the phone in this picture is from the spyware, not the app

Once the app is installed, "the device gets registered with the Firebase Command and Control (C&C) with details such as the presence or absence of WhatsApp, battery percentage, storage stats, the token received from the Firebase messaging service, and the type of internet connection." The spyware is triggered when multiple conditions take effect such as the addition of a ..

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