New Android trojan causes physical damage to devices

Researchers at Kaspersky Lab discovered a new Android trojan dubbed Loapi. Malware predominantly masks as anti-virus software or apps for adults. Malware manages to get administrator's rights and when the user tries to disable it, the malicious app protects itself by blocking the screen and closing the settings' window.

Loapi has a module structure and can easily be adapted to have additional functionality. In particular, Kaspersky Lab experts believe that in the future it will be used to spy over users. At the moment Loapi signs users up on paid for services without their consent, bombards them with ad banners and also uses infected devices in DDoS attacks. However, it's most dangerous function is that Loapi has a module to mine Monero cryptocurrency. This process maximizes the computing powers of the device, which leads to battery overheat. During the experiment Kaspersky Lab researchers installed this malicious app on a test phone. After two days of continuous operation the battery deformed so much that it even deformed the back cover of the device.