Essential information
- Google is pursuing hackers in China for taking control of more than 10 million devices and creating the covert BadBox 2.0 botnet.
- BadBox 2.0 was discovered on inexpensive Android streaming devices, tablets, and projectors—either pre-installed with malicious software or infected during installation through dubious applications.
- Google’s Play Protect now automatically blocks all connections to BadBox 2.0, effectively mitigating the botnet’s preferred methods.
Google is targeting unidentified individuals in China, alleging they took control of over 10 million devices globally to establish the BadBox 2.0 botnet, which was subsequently used for illicit cyber activities.
Following revelations from Human Security and Trend Micro regarding the BadBox 2.0 botnet, Google has verified it is proceeding with legal action against the offenders (as reported by BleepingComputer). Filed this week in a federal court in New York, Google’s lawsuit contends that BadBox 2.0 infected uncertified devices—such as low-cost streaming boxes, tablets, and projectors—by either injecting malware prior to shipment or sneaking it in through dubious apps on open-source Android systems.
The compromised devices