Huawei smartphones: Around 9 million devices infected with Trojan horse

Millions of smartphones from the Chinese manufacturer Huawei have been infected with a malicious Trojan. The malware hides in around 200 different apps within the manufacturer’s own App Gallery and collects sensitive data.

Trojan in Huawei smartphones

Huawei smartphones have been without Google Play services for quite some time due to the embargo and therefore rely on the Huawei App Gallery as an app store. This is now affected by a large-scale malware campaign, as reported by the website Bleeping Computer, among others.

According to the report, corresponding Android Trojans have already been downloaded onto around 9.3 million smartphones from Huawei. The malware programs hide, well disguised, in about 190 different apps that can be downloaded from the Huawei App Gallery.

The Trojan is a modified version of the Cynos malware, which is designed to collect sensitive user data, the report continues.

Manual uninstallation required

Russian antivirus company Dr. Web had already informed Huawei about the Trojan and helped remove the malware from the App Gallery, it said. The problem: Affected programs and games have to be uninstalled by users themselves from their own Huawei smartphones.

Numerous apps and games are affected by the malware, a complete list of all affected programs can be found on Github.

The main function of the “Android.Cynos” Trojan on Huawei smartphones is to collect user information, according to Dr. Web. In addition, Cynos Trojans are also able to install other apps, use premium SMS and intercept incoming messages.

If you are using a Huawei smartphone and have installed one of the affected programs or games, you should completely uninstall it from your device immediately.