In China
All your base are belong to us
Chinese phishing scum are deploying fake mobile base stations to spread malware in text messages that might otherwise get caught by carriers. The Android scumware being spread isn’t new to China: known as the “Swearing Trojan” because of profanities in code comments, its authors are already under arrest. But the fake base …
Are you saying this wheeze installs software:
- without verifying a cryptographic signature?
- without warning the user (loudly) that the source is unknown/untrusted and that by contrast you'd expect a core app from your provider to be verified.
Hmmm. PGP dates back to 1991. You'd think a platform like Android might have caught up with that. Almost like the Glory Days of Windoze all over again.
Where have you been for the last 10 years.
Take windows. Download an xls. Warning from browser....this could be dangerous...are you sure. YES
A/V. Flags up...this could be a Virus, so we have quarantined it. MARK AS SAFE
Open in Excel. This is from an unknown source and has opened in read only mode. Are you sure you wish to edit as it may be dangerous...YES
This contains Macros are you REALLY, REALLY sure you want to do this as it may completely fuck up your machine...YES.
Hello IT, I'm getting loads of pop ups on my pc saying I need to pay 10 bitcoins to unlock my files.
The Chinese market is different - no Google Play, for starters. So there are plenty of competing app stores with more or less shady stuff hosted on them, and phones are routinely configured to allow 3rd party software installation. The typical user's habits are also vastly different. Eg, and somewhat worryingly considering the above, phones are also now a major, if not the major, payment system, with more acceptance than western schemes like Visa.
So all in all, it's really a local issue, and likely not one Google can help fix.
What's that overhead?! Is it a bird? Is it Superman?
NO! It's a unmarked private aircraft with a Stingray fake cell system being driven around our cities looking for; "Terrorists," bears, tigers, lions, and whatever else they can scoop up, all in the name of, wait for it, "National Security™!" "God" be praised! We're saved! Thank you FBI in the Sky! :P
Actually, with a bit of knowledge and a SDR, it should be trivial to spot a "moving cell tower." Don't say you heard it from me, kids.
I thought they told us all this digital 4G-SM phone malarky thing was secure?
Maybe phone providers around the world could maybe think about finally enabling all the security and cryptographic features so their SIMed devices only talk to their legitimate towers and encrypt all data going out over the wire and air?
As an aside, my phone won't support dropping 2g, unless you also want to drop 3g which isn't practical in many countries due to poor LTE coverage.