Android, Bitcoin top malware targets, McAfee reports

Android, Bitcoin top malware targets, McAfee reports: Almost 700,000 new malware samples aimed at the Android platform were cataloged in the third quarter of the year, accounting for an increase of more than 30 percent.

McAfee Labs claims this is driven at least partially by a new category of Android malware, titled Exploit/MasterKey.A, which allows attackers to bypass the digital signature validation of applications, a key component of the Android security process.

Researchers have also found a new class of Android malware that, once installed, downloads a second-stage payload without the user’s knowledge.

“The efforts to bypass code validation on mobile devices, and commandeer it altogether on PCs, both represent attempts to circumvent trust mechanisms upon which our digital ecosystems rely,” said Sean Duca, enterprise solutions architect for McAfee Australia and New Zealand. “The industry must work harder to ensure the integrity of this digital trust infrastructure given these technologies are becoming even more pervasive in every aspect of our daily lives.”