Microsoft discovers Android spam botnet

Microsoft has discovered an Android botnet responsible for sending large volumes of spam across the web, raising further concerns about the security of mobile operating systems.

Terry Zink, security engineer for Microsoft, revealed that spam messages are being sent from the Yahoo! Mail app on Android, showing that at least one botnet exists on Googles popular mobile platform.All of the spam detected was from compromised Yahoo accounts, so it probably says more about Yahoo than it does Android, but all of the messages also feature “Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android” at the bottom, as well as an Android-specific Yahoo.com email.Zink found that most of the infections were in the following countries: Chile, Indonesia, Lebanon, Oman, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Ukraine, and Venezuela. He said that users in developed countries tend to have fewer malware infections than those in developing countries like many of the above.Zink also suggested that the infections are the result of downloading illegitimate apps, including a possible rogue Yahoo! Mail app.Smartphones are, in many ways, more computer than phone, but users tend to not treat them like they would their PC or laptop, which most people have anti-virus software for. As the smartphone market continues to boom, users will need to adjust their security habits.Image Credit: Bodo Akdeniz