Recently, the Google confirmed some rumors regarding extremely dangerous malware on the devices android. According to the company, cybersecurity experts at Benoit Sevens and Clement Lavigne of Big Tech's Threat Analysis Group correctly warned of the existence of a virus called “Hermit”, or Eremita in Portuguese.
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The malware is believed to have been developed by an Italian software development company, RCS Lab, with headquartered in Milan, and was used by state-sponsored agents to target certain groups in Italy and Kazakhstan.
Basically, this is malware surveillance software. So it can work like a spyware. According to experts, it is extremely dangerous, as once installed on the device, it can come into contact with with its command and control server to collect some data like photos, SMS, location and even recording of calls. Therefore, Android users of all versions can have their information and privacy compromised.
Still, you have to go through a process for it to contaminate a smartphone. This is because the download cannot be done through the official Google store, the Play Store, as it cannot be found there. In fact, victims are lured into downloads via SMS messages, where attackers use victims' telecommunication providers to force them to download the application.
In some cases, they worked with internet service providers to turn mobile data on and off, asking them to download the app to regain functionality.
The company started to contact the affected people, but there is still no data on the number of victims or kidnapped data. Furthermore, they also reported the existence of a version of Hermit for Apple devices, and that in case of iOS, it abuses the corporate developer certificate to allow the download to be done.
