Malware hijacks Android clean-up attempt

New Trojan masquerades as the official Android clean-up tool

Cyber criminals have released a new trojan that targets devices using the Android operating system.

At first glance the malware resembles the security update from Google designed to eliminate mobile-targeting malware DroidDream from infected devices.

DroidDream infected an estimated 50,000 mobile devices before it was discovered and host applications were removed from the marketplace.

Following Google's release of the Android Market Security Tool this week, designed to find and remove DroidDream, hackers jumped on the opportunity to serve more malware, and quickly responded with a fake version of this tool, which security companies have called Bgserv-A. This tool has been found on third-party Android marketplaces.

Security specialists F-Secure posted a warning about the trojan on its web site: "This malware may lead to high data usage on the infected device, leaving the user with a high phone bill."

F-Secure added that the code forces the phone to attempt to contact the number 10086, which is related to China Mobile Net.