More than 1 Million Google accounts hacked by Gooligan Android Malware

Experts from the security firm CheckPoint discovered a new Android malware dubbed Gooligan that has already compromised more than a million Google Accounts.

Another malware, dubbed Gooligan, is threatening Android users. The Android malware has already compromised more than 1 Million Google accounts.
The Gooligan Android malware roots vulnerable Android devices in the attempt of stealing email addresses and authentication tokens stored on them.

The stolen information are used by crooks to hijack victims’ Google account and access sensitive data from Google apps including Gmail, Google Photos, Google Docs, Google Play, Google Drive, and G Suite.

“The attack campaign, named Gooligan, breached the security of over one million Google accounts. The number continues to rise at an additional 13,000 breached devices each day.” reported CheckPoint.

“Our research exposes how the malware roots infected devices and steals authentication tokens that can be used to access data from Google Play, Gmail, Google Photos, Google Docs, G Suite, Google Drive, and more.”

Experts from the security firm CheckPoint have discovered dozens of legitimate-looking Android apps containing the Gooligan malware. These mobile apps were available for the download on third-party stores, but experts also highlighted that the malware could be downloaded users directly by tapping malicious links embedded in malicious messages.

Once the malware is installed it start sending device information and stolen data to the C&C server.

“Gooligan then downloads a rootkit from the C&C server that takes advantage of multiple Android 4 and 5 exploits including the well-known VROOT (CVE-2013-6282) and Towelroot (CVE-2014-3153),” added the researcher.

“These exploits still plague many devices today because security patches that fix them may not be available for some versions of Android, or the patches were never installed by the user. If rooting is successful, the attacker has full control of the device and can execute privileged commands remotely. If rooting is successful, the attacker has full control of the device and can execute privileged commands remotely.”

Experts from CheckPoint security confirmed that older versions of the Android operating system are affected by the issue, including Android 4.x (Jelly Bean, KitKat) and 5.x, (Lollipop) (roughly 74% of Android devices currently in use).

The crooks could rapidly monetize their efforts because Gooligan generates revenues by fraudulently buying and installing apps from the official Google Play Store and rating them and writing reviews on behalf of the phone’s owner. The malicious code also installs adware on the victims’ mobile devices.

If you fear being one of the victims of the Gooligan malware be free to use an online tool published by Check Point, the Gooligan Checker, that allows users to check if the Android device has been infected. It is very simple, just open the ‘Gooligan Checker’ and enter your Google email address.

If your device is infected you need to Re-Flash your device running a clean installation of Android OS.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – Gooligan Android Malware, cybercrime)

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Pierluigi Paganini

Pierluigi Paganini is member of the ENISA (European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) Threat Landscape Stakeholder Group and Cyber G7 Group, he is also a Security Evangelist, Security Analyst and Freelance Writer. Editor-in-Chief at "Cyber Defense Magazine", Pierluigi is a cyber security expert with over 20 years experience in the field, he is Certified Ethical Hacker at EC Council in London. The passion for writing and a strong belief that security is founded on sharing and awareness led Pierluigi to find the security blog "Security Affairs" recently named a Top National Security Resource for US. Pierluigi is a member of the "The Hacker News" team and he is a writer for some major publications in the field such as Cyber War Zone, ICTTF, Infosec Island, Infosec Institute, The Hacker News Magazine and for many other Security magazines. Author of the Books "The Deep Dark Web" and “Digital Virtual Currency and Bitcoin”.