Beware! Daam virus targets Android devices, steals data, passwords, and more

A dangerous virus targeting Android phones is hacking into users' call logs, stealing passwords and other sensitive data. The government has issued an advisory against the new threat in the city.

The government has issued an advisory against malware called 'Daam' that can infect Android phones. This malware can gain unauthorized access to various aspects of your phone, such as call logs, contacts, browsing history, and even your camera. The Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In), the national cybersecurity agency, has provided this notice.

According to the advisory, the 'Daam' virus can evade antivirus programs, making it difficult to detect and remove. You can also deploy ransomware, a type of malicious software that locks down your device and demands a ransom to unlock it. The virus is usually transferred via third-party websites or apps downloaded from untrustworthy or unknown sources.

Once the 'Daam' virus infects an Android phone, it tries to evade the device's security measures. It then gains access to sensitive information on the compromised device, such as call logs and history.

The government notice also mentions that the 'Daam' virus can hack into phone call recordings, contacts, access cameras and even modify device passwords. In addition, it can take screenshots, steal text messages (SMS), download and upload files, and transmit the stolen data to a command and control server.

To make matters worse, the malware uses an advanced encryption algorithm called AES to encrypt files on the victim's device. Unfortunately, this leads to other files being deleted from the device storage, and only encrypted files remain with a ".enc" extension. Additionally, a ransom note called "readme_now.txt" may be displayed.

Users are advised to be highly cautious when dealing with shortened URLs, such as those containing 'bitly' or 'tinyurl' hyperlinks. These URLs can be redirected to malicious websites.