A new family of Android malware adds insult to injury by making users pay for the data-stealing application.Palo Alto Networks found three variants of the malware, which it calls Gunpoder, masquerading as emulator applications used to play Nintendo games.Antivirus engines are having trouble detecting Gunpoder’s malicious code since it is packaged with an adware library called Airpush, wrote Cong Zheng and Zhi Xu of Palo Alto’s Unit 42 research group.[ ALSO ON CSO: Android malware fakes phone shutdown to steal data ] “The malware samples successfully use these advertisement libraries to hide malicious behaviors from detection by antivirus engines,” they wrote. “While antivirus engines may flag Gunpoder as being adware, by not flagging it as being overtly malicious, most engines will not prevent Gunpoder from executing.”Gunpoder apps can do a variety of invasive actions, including collecting bookmarks and browser histories, sending itself to other people over SMS, showing fraudulent advertisements and executing other code. And users get to pay for that data-stealing capability. When a Gunpoder app is launched, it asks users to buy a lifelong license for the emulator for US$0.20 or $0.49, payable through PayPal or Skrill.So far, Gunpoder appears to be targeting people in Iraq, Thailand, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Russia, France, Mexico, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Italy, the U.S. and Spain, Palo Alto said.Curiously, the malware is programmed to not send itself by SMS to other numbers in a phone’s contact list if the user is in China.Its coders have also co-opted the Airpush advertising library with a fraudulent ad.“The fraudulent advertisement page attempts to mimic a Facebook page,” Palo Alto wrote. “It requests that victims finish a number of surveys and asks them to install various applications in order to receive a gift.”Send news tips and comments to jeremy_kirk@idg.com. Follow me on Twitter: @jeremy_kirk Related content opinion Preparing for the post-quantum cryptography environment today It’s a mistake to put off the creation of precautions against quantum threats, no matter how far in the future you might think quantum computing will become a reality. By Christopher Burgess Sep 26, 2023 5 mins CSO and CISO CSO and CISO CSO and CISO feature What is WorldCoin's proof-of-personhood system? What does the blockchain, AI, and custom hardware system featuring a shiny, eye-scanning orb mean for the future of identity access management? By Matthew Tyson Sep 26, 2023 12 mins Cryptocurrency Cryptocurrency Cryptocurrency news analysis DHS unveils one common platform for reporting cyber incidents Ahead of CISA cyber incident reporting regulations, DHS issued a report on harmonizing 52 cyber incident reporting requirements, presenting a model common reporting platform that could encompass them all. By Cynthia Brumfield Sep 25, 2023 10 mins Regulation Government Incident Response news Chinese state actors behind espionage attacks on Southeast Asian government The distinct groups of activities formed three different clusters, each attributed to a specific APT group. By Shweta Sharma Sep 25, 2023 4 mins Advanced Persistent Threats Cyberattacks Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe