Beware of 'Dendroid,' Android phone users warned

MUMBAI, INDIA: Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has issued an alert asking all Android smartphone users to beware of a deadly virus 'Dendroid,' "the malicious application" through which an attacker can "completely compromise the affected smartphone and control it remotely."

The warning by the Indian cyber security agency is significant as over 90 per cent of smartphones in India are loaded with Google's mobile operating system. "It has been reported that a malicious toolkit called Dendroid is being used to create Trojanised applications that infects Android-based smartphones.

The malware is created by modifying the required permissions by any clean APK (Android Application Package) with Dendroid RAT functionality that allows detailed management of the infected devices," says an advisory by CERT-In that comes under the Department of Electronics and IT.

The CERT-In notes that the virus can perform a number of malicious activities in various form. The "attack toolkit" can delete all call logs, open web pages, dial any number, record calls and audio, intercept SMS, upload images and video to remote location and open applications, it adds