Security researchers at Israeli software security company Check Point revealed Wednesday that a fresh Android security breach has resulted in more than one million Google accounts being hacked, accordng to a Channel 2 report.
According to the company’s researchers, attackers were able to gain access to the personal information of over one million GMAIL users.
The malware detected by Check Point is called “Julian” and gives hackers complete control of the user’s smartphone, allowing them to steal private e-mail information and user authentication codes.
“The theft of information from more than one million Google accounts is very alarming and represents the next stage of cyber attacks,” said Checkpoint’s head of mobility product management Michael Shaulov. “We are witnessing a change in strategy by hackers, who are now attacking mobile devices to obtain sensitive information stored on them.”
In August, Checkpoint exposed four security flaws that they said could potentially affect some 900 million Android phones.
The bugs were found in software on processors manufactured by US firm Qualcomm.
The flaws which are located in code that controls how different components of the phone communicate with each other as well as inside graphics software, were found as Checkpoint teams spent six months reverse engineering Qualcomm’s code, said Shaulov at the time.
“I’m pretty sure you will see these vulnerabilities being exploited in the next three to four months,” Shaulov said, adding “It’s always a race as to who finds the bug first, whether it’s the good guys or the bad.”
The flaws and relevant data were presented to Qualcomm and Google by Checkpoint earlier this year. Qualcomm has used the Checkpoint data to create software patches for phones that have already been sold and are modifying the processors in their factories according to a BBC report
