QR codes may lead to Android malware

Users of smartphones running Google’s Android may have to think twice before using their devices to interact with Quick Response (QR) codes —some of them may lead to malware. Computer security firm Kaspersky said some QR codes can redirect Android users to a URL with a malicious file, possibly in APK and JAR format. “Yes, you scan a QR code with the help of your smartphone and it redirects you to a URL with a malicious file (APK or JAR). Such QR codes exist and are gaining in popularity," it said in a blog post (). A QR code is a matrix barcode first designed for the automotive industry that is gaining popularity and is used in banners, magazines, transport and badges to provide quick information. It is large enough to enough to store text or URL. Kaspersky said the QR is gaining popularity since people who use smartphones often look for new software for their devices with the help of desktop PCs. A user who finds something interesting must retype the application URL in the smartphone browser to download it – but can now do so easily by scanning QR codes. Kaspersky also noted cybercriminals have started to use malicious QR codes for users’ “convenience." In one case, it said a QR-redirected URL does not contain the malware itself but redirects a user to another URL that does have the file. The malware, which Kaspersky detects as Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.Jifake.f, is a Trojanized Jimm application (mobile ICQ client) “which sends several SMS messages to premium rate number 2476 ($6 each)." Once it is installed, an icon named “JimmRussia" will appear in the phone menu. Kaspersky also said there are other websites that contain malicious QR codes with the links to various J2ME SMS Trojans. “Usage of QR codes for malware spreading was predictable. And as long as this technology is popular cybercriminals will use it. These two examples illustrate the very beginning of such usage and in the nearest future likely we will see more pieces of mobile malware which is spread via QR codes," it said. — TJD, GMA News