Security firm Trend Micro has discovered the first Android malware program written in the Kotlin programming language.
It was first detected a few days ago, inside an Android app that was available on the official Google Play Store. It is a fake variant of the already known Swift Cleaner, which cleans junk files, cache memory and generally improves the performance of your device. The malware does not yet have a specific name, but Trend Micro detects it as ANDROIDOS_BKOTKLIND.HRX. including three packages.
com.pho.nec.sg.app.cleanapplication
com.pho.nec.pcs
com.pho.nec.sg
Google has removed all fake Swift Cleaner apps found on the Play Store.
Researchers said the malware comes with many features, but the app used few. According to a report published this week, the malware tricks users into clicking on various ads that appear to them. Once it does, it is capable of executing commands remotely, intercepting information, sending SMS and forwarding URLs. Until now, all Android malware has been detected in the Java , but the appearance of Kotlin is not surprising, as this language has officially become the second supported language by the Android OS and many expect it to become the main one for Android app development in the coming years.
In its report, Trend Micro also presents a new banking malware called FakeBank. The new malware targets banking applications and has so far been detected only in Russian-speaking countries. It is suspected that FakeBank is related to the old Android Trojan Fanta SDK, which was active in early 2016. The Fanta SDK was famous for using an innovative technique to change the PIN on smartphones and the lock screen, while simultaneously withdrawing money from the victim's bank account.
