NBC4 News reports that a new malware attack campaign called “Gooligan” is said to have compromised more than 1 million Google accounts so far. The security alert also adds that the new cyber attack has the potential to infect more than 13,000 mobile devices every day.
Application download and clicking on suspicious email links called phishing is said to be leading to the success of malware campaign. Phishing is nothing but, email links which lead to sites spreading malware. The malware includes Ransomware which helps remotely unlock the locked files in a database when the ransom is paid to the hacker.
As per the tech analysts from Google, Gooligan which is primarily affecting old android phones can turn into the largest breach. As the older Android versions before KITKAT still account for about 74 percent of the market, the threat percentage can increase even more in coming days.
Often the problem emerges when free malware hidden apps are downloaded. As they can access all your Google services via a single login, they can be used for spam and help increase the rank of non-legitimate games on the Google Play Store.
The objective of Gooligan is not to steal your photos or mobile wallet info. But its main purpose is to promote apps through black hat marketing techniques. This includes spamming and other promotional techniques.
Currently, the only way to deal with the situation is to have the operating system updated from Google, or use the latest OS like Lollipop or Marshmallow. A technician can help reinstall the new software on your phone.
If you want to confirm whether your device is affected, please go to gooligan dot checkpoint dot com and enter the email address which is associated with your Android phone.
Note- Please makes sure that you are entering the credentials on the legitimate site as the search engine is being flooded with many illegitimate sites.
