Android mobile malware using Bluetooth to sneak onto Google smartphones

Mobile malware able to infect Android smartphones and tablets via Bluetooth has been uncovered operating in the wild.

McAfee researcher Jimmy Shah reported the Android/Obad.A threat, explaining it has several detection dodging features that make it difficult to spot using traditional security practices.

"If you can't find it, you can't remove it. Nearly every other piece of Android malware that doesn't have root access can be found and discovered. Android/Obad uses a vulnerability that keeps it off the standard Device Administration list. The vulnerability isn't yet closed, so it's very likely we'll see other malware authors start to exploit it," wrote Shah.
Once on the device, the malware is particularly nasty as it can remotely accept commands from its authors, letting them do things like covertly instruct the phone to message premium rate numbers owned by the hackers.
Shah said the malware can be removed using the firm's McAfee Mobile Innovations app (MMI). V3 contacted other vendors for clarification on whether their services can remove the infection, but had not received a reply at the time of publication.
Android/Obad.A is one of many advanced mobile malwares caught targeting the Android ecosystem this year. Previously, Symantec researchers unearthed a malicious FakeDefender malware attempting to infects users' machines by pretending to be a legitimate free antivirus tool.
The two malwares' discovery comes during a wider boom in the number of mobile threats facing business. Most recently, Russian security firm Kaspersky reported detecting 23,000 new mobile threats in its Q1 2013 Threat Report.