Threat Level Downgrade Call-Recording Android Trojan

Earlier this week, Total Defense security researcher Dinesh Vinkatesan broke news of a pernicious-sounding security threat for Android devices. According to Vinkatesan's post on the CA Security Advisor Research Blog, this threat is a Trojan horse malware application capable of recording a user's phone calls and uploading them to a remote server.

It sounds pretty bad. And it would be, if it were true. But according to new information released today by Symantec security analyst Irfan Asrar on the Symantec Security Response Blog, the threat known as Android.Nickispy doesn't look so menacing after all.
In the Monday blog post that launched this story, Dinesh Vinkatesan was less than revealing about the source of the app, saying only, "today we have received an Android package to our collection and observed that this piece of malware walks an additional mile by having a neat configuration and has a capability to record the telephonic conversation the infected victim makes." With that kind of description, it's no wonder security-conscious tech audiences took a keen interest in this package.

According to Symantec's Irfan Asrar, however, the app is widely available on multiple sites in China, with no effort made to conceal its function. "The author had clearly stated the purpose, so anyone installing this app could not be mistaken in its intentions," said Asrar. "Now that's not to say someone couldn't install it on another person's phone. Still, on completion of installation the app actually shows up with an icon marked Speech Recorder, clearly visible to the user." So if you were worried that such an app might surreptitiously appear on your device, breathe easy.
In the Monday blog post that launched this story, Dinesh Vinkatesan was less than revealing about the source of the app, saying only, "today we have received an Android package to our collection and observed that this piece of malware walks an additional mile by having a neat configuration and has a capability to record the telephonic conversation the infected victim makes." With that kind of description, it's no wonder security-conscious tech audiences took a keen interest in this package.