A new phone should arrive with a battery to charge, a screen to admire, and several settings to argue with. Malware should not come included in the box. Yet cybersecurity researchers have uncovered a campaign that allegedly puts malicious software on certain inexpensive Android phones before their owners ever switch them on.
The campaign, dubbed Midnight Mimosa, affects thousands of devices across more than 150 countries, according to security firm Bitdefender. The software can secretly install apps, generate fraudulent advertising activity, and enlist phones in networks that cybercriminals control. Even worse, owners cannot remove the underlying infection through an ordinary uninstall.
