A new round of malware is making its way through Europe after starting by infecting phones in Denmark. The malware, called Mazar, is installed through a malicious text message, and it then routes all internet traffic through a proxy where the malware can capture sensitive information that's sent and received from the phone.
Fortunately for most people, Mazar would be pretty tricky to install accidentally. It starts with an SMS message that links to an APK on the internet, which you could only install if your phone is set to allow side loaded apps. Any tech savvy user would likely know to avoid that, and most people probably don't have their phone set to allow third-party apps to install.
Regardless, the malware has already infected roughly 10,000 phones in Denmark, according to Heimdal Security. They've released a full report on the malware and how it works, which should hopefully raise awareness of the malicious app.
Interestingly, Mazar doesn't affect phones if the language is set to Russian. So your best bet to avoid this is to either brush up on your Android security skills, or learn Russian. The first one's probably easier, but if you needed an excuse to learn a second language, there you go.
source: Heimdal Security
via: The Verge
