BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU…
Wrote George Orwell in the nightmare dystopian future of his book, 1984 and while the novel’s idea that government ministries could also watch you through your “telescreen” thankfully didn’t come to pass, today they can still track your every move.
Yes, that’s a scary thought but, in their defense, governments mostly use public surveillance for good – to catch criminals and terrorists. CCTV cameras can provide crucial evidence and as some say, “if you don’t do anything wrong, you’ve nothing to worry about.” But here’s a scarier idea… what if those self-same criminals were the ones watching your every move?
Researchers at Trend Micro recently discovered a new spawn of malware called GhostCTRL and it’s one of the most advanced Android information-stealers yet. While many forms of malware can steal data, GhostCTRL enables cyber attackers to remote control your phone and even silently record audio and video before infecting your device with ransomware and locking it forever, or until you pay up.
GhostCTRL is, of course, based on OmniRAT, a spying software which gives hackers full Remote Access Tool control of Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android devices.
Yet, unlike OmniRAT, the spooky-sounding software that is GhostCTRL focuses on Android alone… and you don’t need to be Kevin Mitnick to work out how to use either, just choose the make and model of your mobile device the language you speak, download and then…
“WHAT I’M ABOUT TO TELL YOU IS TOP SECRET”
This Youtube video, complete with its Mr Robot opening, shows you how easy it is to gain remote access to a phone. Granted, this “Ghost” Controller uses Bluetooth to gain access to his own, unlocked phone just feet away, but that’s irrelevant. Hackers and cyber criminals will get passed your four digit phone code quicker than you can say “deploy ransomware”
While some of the on-screen text appears in German, all the important info is in English and the video goes on to prove that Germans can’t whistle for shit!
If you think a hacker couldn’t do much with the information on your phone, let’s just say give us ten minutes alone with the data-stealing Windows RETADUP worm and we’ll get back to you!
Because a phone is likely to always be on your person, mobile devices can provide information about almost every aspect of your life – call logs, voicemail, email, SMS messages, GPS location, contacts, phone numbers, browser history. photos, videos.
Whatsmore, Whatsapp chat and audio messages, plus videos and photos can all be easily mustered, and now they can secretly recording you whenever, wherever they want and without your knowledge.
So, if Android devices do get hacked by The Ghost in the Shell…
WHAT’S THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN?
While we guess you could be blackmailed, and you are the most important person in your universe, your fruity photos aren’t going to cause a stir on a global scale. Not even Tiger Woods ex-girlfriend, Lindsey Vonn’s hacked photos or Scarlett Johansson’s naked photos would bring about the apocalypse.
The worst that hackers can glean from most members of the public and celebrities’ phones is the odd naked photo or video, but what if they tapped into phones belonging to those with power?
What if Russian hackers used OmniRAT to gain access to your congressman or Member of Parliament? For quite some time, President Trump was tweeting from an unsecured Android phone. Ironic as he based much of his campaign on Hillary Clinton’s hacked DNC e-mails.
Big, corporate business CEO’s, journalists, royalty and the top 1% of the top 1% that play God without permission? Rupert Murdoch, ex-chief executive of 21st Century Fox and giant green lizard globalist (who’s rubber human disguise seems to be failing him fast) could easily have their phones hacked. Oh, how the tables will have turned.
Worse still, what if foreign hackers found back doors into CIA or Mi5 spy’s and high-ranking Pentagon military officials’ phones? Using GhostCTRL in combination with full-on espionage techniques, the data could they get their hands on doesn’t bear thinking about.
For more about what cyber criminals could do with hacked data, check out our article on cyber warfare. Otherwise, The RansomwareNewz Desk will be back real soon.
