Malware appears to wipe out Android phone data

The latest security research estimates that the Mazar malware has been sent to more than 100,000 Android smartphone users in Denmark.

Heimdal, a security research company in Denmark, has just announced the discovery of a new malware that can take control of Android mobile devices and even wipe out user data on that device.

Mazar, as the malware was named by the security research firm, was found to be able to be sent to more than 100,000 Android mobile devices in Denmark. Currently, the company said it has not detected Mazar in other countries.

According to Heimdal's research, the Mazar malware was found to be spread via SMS messages. When attacked, users will receive a message with content that seems to imply that the user is directed to a link containing a multimedia message. However, when this link is accessed, it will immediately download Tor software, which provides anonymous web browsing, to the victim's device, and Mazar will then take advantage of Tor to infiltrate the user's mobile device.

It's not yet clear whether Mazar affects Android Lollipop or Marshmallow users.

Once infected with Mazar, users will be threatened by a series of destructive forms such as monitoring message content, sending mass messages from the victim's own device, invading other private data or even being able to completely erase all user data.

According to the research from this security company, the team has only discovered Mazar on Android version 4.4 KitKat. It is not yet clear whether users of Android Lollipop or the latest Marshmallow version are affected by Mazar malware.

Surprisingly, Heimdal's research found that current Russian-language Android smartphones are free of Mazar.

The advice for Android users right now is to never touch links in messages from unknown numbers. Even messages from familiar people, you should consider carefully with content that does not link to a certain website.

According to Heimdal, the Mazar malware can only be exploited if users set the attribute to allow installation of applications even from unknown sources in the Settings section of the Android device.

According to PCWorld