Virus ‘kidnaps’ TV with Android and asks for money to unlock it – Digital Look

Ransomware is the threat of the moment. The worm installs itself on a any device, lock access to everything, and only comes out (or promises to leave) when the victim pays out an amount, usually in bitcoins. Now, as detected TrendMicro, we have a new category of infectable devices:. Smart TVs

The malware Frantic Locker, known for flocker Abbreviation, was also indentificado in Smart TVs, specifically those using the Android system TV. The malware blocks the TV prevents the user to watch their things and asks for money to let the victim go back to using the TV.

The creators of flocker, strange as it may seem, have a care and great with your product, with regular updates that allow it to continue to function even in the face of Android updates. In the last update, we reached the support to TVs with Google’s system.

It is worth noting, however, that the Android ransomware is quite different than it would on a Windows PC. The virus is not able to encrypt the entire system without root access (which most Androids do not have natively), so what it does is try to trick the user to gain administrator access. From there, it can control the screen and prevent its uninstallation

In the beginning, flocker asks “gently” the administrator permission.; if not enough to fool the user, which probably will not be, it will full force lock the screen with a false message system update. When gains access, the screen is locked with a false message of fining the victim authorities for any illegal activity. Interestingly, the payment of $ 200 is made on prepaid cards iTunes (probably for resale), which takes quite the legitimacy of the “authorities” in question

Another curiosity about the plague:. The flocker was programmed not to affect devices in specific countries, which are Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Armenia and Belarus. The first thing he does when installing on a machine is to check the location; if you are in some of these countries, it is harmless.

Via ExtremeTech