While many are focusing on potential spying from Huawei phones , there is another significant risk coming from other Chinese Android phones, infected with malware to steal users ' money .
Secure -D and BuzzFeed News have revealed that some low-cost Tecno W2 phones being shipped to countries around the world have been infected with malware. The Triada and xHelper malware, which are installed on the phones, secretly download apps and sign up for services paid As a result, users are facing huge bills.
Chinese Android phones with malware to steal money?
Pre -installed malware on phones is not a new idea, but Malwarebytes analyst Nathan Colliertold BuzzFeed that Triada and xHelper are particularly insidious. They cause a variety of problems, but most worryingly, they can't be removed with a factory reset.
The Chinese Android phones in question were mostly found in African countries, such as Egypt, Ghana and South Africa. However, some devices also made it to Indonesia and Myanmar. Secure-D said it blocked 844,000 malware transactions between March and December 2019.
Transsion ,the company behind Chinese Android phones Tecno, blamed an unnamed “supply chain vendor” for the malware. The company said it provided patches for Triada in March 2018 and for xHelper in late 2019. However, the issue doesn’t seem to have gone away. Secure-D said it was still blocking Triada and xHelper on Transsion phones as of April 2020.
Companies like TCL have had similar problems with pre-installed malware, Secure-D said.
There is no evidence to suggest that Transsion had any malicious intent and is responsible for the money-. However, this incident does not help Chinese phones and companies that have often been accused of spying on users. This situation also puts many would-be buyers in a difficult position. Tecno is attractive precisely because it is one of the few brands that primarily targets low-income buyers. Customers may not have many alternatives if they are forced to abandon Chinese Tecno Android phones.
