attardan/LadderDS_SAMPLE · Datasets at Hugging Face

tokens sequencelengths 8 53	ner_tags sequencelengths 8 53
[ "Virulent", "Android", "malware", "returns", ",", "gets", ">", "2", "million", "downloads", "on", "Google", "Play", "A", "virulent", "family", "of", "malware", "that", "infected", "more", "than", "10", "million", "Android", "devices", "last", "year", "has", "made", "a", "comeback", ",", "this", "time", "hiding", "inside", "Google", "Play", "apps", "that", "have", "been", "downloaded", "by", "as", "many", "as", "12", "million", "unsuspecting", "users", "." ]	[ 2, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "HummingWhale", ",", "as", "the", "professionally", "developed", "malware", "has", "been", "dubbed", ",", "is", "a", "variant", "of", "HummingBad", ",", "the", "name", "given", "to", "a", "family", "of", "malicious", "apps", "researchers", "documented", "in", "July", "invading", "non-Google", "app", "markets", "." ]	[ 2, 11, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "HummingBad", "attempted", "to", "override", "security", "protections", "by", "exploiting", "unpatched", "vulnerabilities", "that", "gave", "the", "malware", "root", "privileges", "in", "older", "versions", "of", "Android", "." ]	[ 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18 ]
[ "Before", "Google", "shut", "it", "down", ",", "it", "installed", "more", "than", "50,000", "fraudulent", "apps", "each", "day", ",", "displayed", "20", "million", "malicious", "advertisements", ",", "and", "generated", "more", "than", "$", "300,000", "per", "month", "in", "revenue", "." ]	[ 18, 5, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "Of", "the", "10", "million", "people", "who", "downloaded", "HummingBad-contaminated", "apps", ",", "an", "estimated", "286,000", "of", "them", "were", "located", "in", "the", "US", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 1, 18 ]
[ "HummingWhale", ",", "by", "contrast", ",", "managed", "to", "sneak", "its", "way", "into", "about", "20", "Google", "Play", "apps", "that", "were", "downloaded", "from", "2", "million", "to", "12", "million", "times", ",", "according", "to", "researchers", "from", "Check", "Point", ",", "the", "security", "company", "that", "has", "been", "closely", "following", "the", "malware", "family", "for", "almost", "a", "year", "." ]	[ 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "Rather", "than", "rooting", "devices", ",", "the", "latest", "variant", "includes", "new", "virtual", "machine", "techniques", "that", "allow", "the", "malware", "to", "perform", "ad", "fraud", "better", "than", "ever", ",", "company", "researchers", "said", "in", "a", "blog", "post", "published", "Monday", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "\"", "Users", "must", "realize", "that", "they", "can", "no", "longer", "trust", "in", "installing", "only", "apps", "with", "a", "high", "reputation", "from", "official", "app", "stores", "as", "their", "sole", "defense", ",", "''", "the", "researchers", "wrote", "in", "an", "e-mail", "to", "Ars", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "\"", "This", "malware", "employs", "several", "tactics", "to", "keep", "its", "activity", "hidden", ",", "meaning", "users", "might", "be", "unaware", "of", "its", "existence", "on", "their", "device", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "''", "As", "was", "the", "case", "with", "HummingBad", ",", "the", "purpose", "of", "HummingWhale", "is", "to", "generate", "revenue", "by", "displaying", "fraudulent", "ads", "and", "automatically", "installing", "apps", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "When", "users", "try", "to", "close", "the", "ads", ",", "the", "new", "functionality", "causes", "already", "downloaded", "apps", "to", "run", "in", "a", "virtual", "machine", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "That", "creates", "a", "fake", "ID", "that", "allows", "the", "perpetrators", "to", "generate", "referral", "revenues", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "Use", "of", "the", "virtual", "machine", "brings", "many", "technical", "benefits", "to", "the", "operators", ",", "chief", "among", "them", "allowing", "the", "malware", "to", "install", "apps", "without", "requiring", "users", "to", "approve", "a", "list", "of", "elevated", "permissions", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "The", "VM", "also", "disguises", "the", "malicious", "activity", ",", "making", "it", "easier", "for", "the", "apps", "to", "infiltrate", "Google", "Play", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18 ]
[ "It", "has", "the", "added", "benefit", "of", "installing", "a", "nearly", "unlimited", "number", "of", "fraudulent", "apps", "without", "overloading", "the", "infected", "device", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "Until", "now", ",", "Android", "malware", "that", "wanted", "advanced", "capabilities", "typically", "had", "to", "trick", "users", "into", "approving", "sometimes", "scary-sounding", "permissions", "or", "exploit", "rooting", "vulnerabilities", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "Ginning", "the", "ratings", "To", "implement", "the", "VM", "feature", ",", "the", "malicious", "APK", "installation", "dropper", "used", "by", "HummingWhale", "uses", "DroidPlugin", ",", "an", "extension", "originally", "developed", "by", "developers", "from", "China-based", "company", "Qihoo", "360", ",", "Check", "Point", "said", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 7, 16, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18 ]
[ "HummingWhale", "has", "also", "been", "observed", "hiding", "the", "original", "malicious", "app", "once", "it", "'s", "installed", "and", "trying", "to", "improve", "its", "Google", "Play", "reputation", "by", "automatically", "generating", "posts", "disguised", "as", "positive", "user", "comments", "and", "ratings", "." ]	[ 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "Gooligan", ",", "a", "family", "of", "Android", "malware", "that", "came", "to", "light", "in", "November", "after", "it", "compromised", "more", "than", "1", "million", "Google", "accounts", ",", "contained", "similar", "abilities", "to", "tamper", "with", "Google", "Play", "ratings", "." ]	[ 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 8, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18 ]
[ "People", "who", "want", "to", "know", "if", "their", "Android", "devices", "are", "infected", "can", "download", "the", "Check", "Point", "app", "here", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "A", "separate", "app", "from", "Check", "Point", "competitor", "Lookout", "also", "detects", "the", "threat", "as", "a", "variant", "of", "the", "Shedun", "malware", "family", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 5, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "More", "technically", "inclined", "people", "can", "detect", "infections", "by", "seeing", "if", "a", "device", "connects", "to", "a", "control", "server", "located", "at", "app.blinkingcamera.com", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "Package", "names", "for", "infected", "apps", "typically", "contain", "a", "common", "naming", "structure", "that", "includes", "com.XXXXXXXXX.camera", ",", "for", "example", "com.bird.sky.whale.camera", "(", "app", "name", ":", "Whale", "Camera", ")", ",", "com.color.rainbow.camera", "(", "Rainbow", "Camera", ")", ",", "and", "com.fishing.when.orangecamera", "(", "Orange", "Camera", ")", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18 ]
[ "HummingWhale", "virus", "is", "the", "new", "scourge", "of", "the", "Google", "Play", "Store", "The", "HummingBad", "virus", "that", "affected", "millions", "of", "Android", "users", "last", "year", "has", "not", "gone", "away", ";", "in", "fact", ",", "it", "has", "returned", "with", "a", "vengeance", "under", "a", "new", "name", ":", "HummingWhale", "." ]	[ 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 9, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18 ]
[ "The", "HummingBad", "virus", "revealed", "in", "July", "of", "last", "year", "was", "one", "of", "the", "worst", "pieces", "of", "malware", "catalogued", ",", "infecting", "as", "many", "as", "85m", "Android", "phones", "around", "the", "globe", "." ]	[ 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 8, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "Originating", "from", "a", "Chinese", "cyber-criminal", "gang", "called", "Yingmob", ",", "the", "security", "research", "company", "Check", "Point", "believed", "it", "was", "earning", "as", "much", "as", "$", "300,000", "a", "month", "in", "fraudulent", "adware", "by", "establishing", "a", "persistent", "rootkit", "on", "Android", "devices", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18 ]
[ "From", "bad", "to", "whale", "HummingBad", "was", "so", "widespread", ",", "Check", "Point", "said", ",", "that", "in", "the", "first", "half", "of", "2016", ",", "it", "reached", "fourth", "place", "in", "‘", "the", "most", "prevalent", "malware", "globally", "’", "list", ",", "and", "dominated", "the", "mobile", "threat", "landscape", "with", "more", "than", "72pc", "of", "attacks", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 8, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "Now", "in", "the", "first", "month", "of", "2017", ",", "Check", "Point", "has", "warned", "Android", "users", "that", "HummingBad", "is", "back", "in", "a", "big", "way", ",", "this", "time", "under", "the", "new", "moniker", "of", "HummingWhale", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 8, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18 ]
[ "To", "make", "matters", "worse", "for", "anyone", "who", "may", "have", "unknowingly", "downloaded", "an", "affected", "app", ",", "it", "has", "much", "more", "advanced", "tools", "than", "its", "predecessor", ",", "allowing", "it", "to", "perform", "ad", "fraud", "at", "an", "unprecedented", "scale", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "One", "of", "the", "new", "HummingWhale", "apps", "came", "to", "the", "attention", "of", "Check", "Point", "after", "it", "noticed", "a", "familiar", "piece", "of", "code", "that", "appeared", "in", "not", "one", ",", "but", "a", "dozen", "different", "apps", ",", "which", "indicated", "that", "malware", "was", "installed", "within", "them", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "Can", "install", "infinite", "number", "of", "malware", "apps", "All", "of", "the", "apps", "found", "were", "uploaded", "using", "the", "names", "of", "fake", "Chinese", "developers", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "In", "addition", "to", "these", "apps", ",", "16", "distinct", "package", "names", "related", "to", "the", "same", "malware", "were", "found", "on", "the", "Google", "Play", "Store", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 9, 18 ]
[ "The", "most", "alarming", "element", "of", "the", "app", "was", "a", "1.3MB", "file", "called", "‘", "assets/group.png", "’", ",", "a", "suspiciously", "large", "file", "that", "matched", "many", "of", "the", "traits", "seen", "in", "HummingBad", ",", "indicating", "the", "link", "between", "HummingWhale", "and", "its", "predecessor", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "A", "HummingWhale", "app", "will", "provide", "a", "user", "with", "fake", "ads", "that", "will", "become", "particularly", "harmful", "to", "them", "if", "opened", "." ]	[ 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "“", "Once", "the", "user", "tries", "to", "close", "the", "ad", ",", "the", "app", ",", "which", "was", "already", "downloaded", "by", "the", "malware", ",", "is", "uploaded", "to", "the", "virtual", "machine", "and", "run", "as", "if", "it", "is", "a", "real", "device", ",", "”", "Check", "Point", "said", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18 ]
[ "The", "HummingWhale", "method", "allows", "cyber-criminals", "to", "have", "the", "malware", "installed", "through", "apps", "without", "being", "noticeably", "suspicious", "by", "asking", "for", "a", "number", "of", "different", "permissions", "." ]	[ 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "It", "can", "also", "be", "installed", "on", "an", "infinite", "number", "of", "fraudulent", "apps", "without", "overloading", "the", "device", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "“", "This", "is", "a", "prime", "example", "of", "malware", "developers", "learning", "from", "each", "other", ",", "as", "tactics", "that", "were", "introduced", "by", "one", "of", "them", "are", "quickly", "adopted", "by", "others", ",", "”", "Check", "Point", "said", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18 ]
[ "PHA", "Family", "Highlights", ":", "Zen", "and", "its", "cousins", "January", "11", ",", "2019", "Google", "Play", "Protect", "detects", "Potentially", "Harmful", "Applications", "(", "PHAs", ")", "which", "Google", "Play", "Protect", "defines", "as", "any", "mobile", "app", "that", "poses", "a", "potential", "security", "risk", "to", "users", "or", "to", "user", "data—commonly", "referred", "to", "as", "\"", "malware", "." ]	[ 3, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 8, 17, 17, 17, 0, 9, 9, 18, 3, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 18, 0, 9, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "''", "in", "a", "variety", "of", "ways", ",", "such", "as", "static", "analysis", ",", "dynamic", "analysis", ",", "and", "machine", "learning", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 17, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "While", "our", "systems", "are", "great", "at", "automatically", "detecting", "and", "protecting", "against", "PHAs", ",", "we", "believe", "the", "best", "security", "comes", "from", "the", "combination", "of", "automated", "scanning", "and", "skilled", "human", "review", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "With", "this", "blog", "series", "we", "will", "be", "sharing", "our", "research", "analysis", "with", "the", "research", "and", "broader", "security", "community", ",", "starting", "with", "the", "PHA", "family", ",", "Zen", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 2, 18 ]
[ "Zen", "uses", "root", "permissions", "on", "a", "device", "to", "automatically", "enable", "a", "service", "that", "creates", "fake", "Google", "accounts", "." ]	[ 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 9, 18 ]
[ "These", "accounts", "are", "created", "by", "abusing", "accessibility", "services", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18 ]
[ "Zen", "apps", "gain", "access", "to", "root", "permissions", "from", "a", "rooting", "trojan", "in", "its", "infection", "chain", "." ]	[ 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "In", "this", "blog", "post", ",", "we", "do", "not", "differentiate", "between", "the", "rooting", "component", "and", "the", "component", "that", "abuses", "root", ":", "we", "refer", "to", "them", "interchangeably", "as", "Zen", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18 ]
[ "We", "also", "describe", "apps", "that", "we", "think", "are", "coming", "from", "the", "same", "author", "or", "a", "group", "of", "authors", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "All", "of", "the", "PHAs", "that", "are", "mentioned", "in", "this", "blog", "post", "were", "detected", "and", "removed", "by", "Google", "Play", "Protect", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 9, 18 ]
[ "Background", "Uncovering", "PHAs", "takes", "a", "lot", "of", "detective", "work", "and", "unraveling", "the", "mystery", "of", "how", "they", "'re", "possibly", "connected", "to", "other", "apps", "takes", "even", "more", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "PHA", "authors", "usually", "try", "to", "hide", "their", "tracks", ",", "so", "attribution", "is", "difficult", "." ]	[ 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "Sometimes", ",", "we", "can", "attribute", "different", "apps", "to", "the", "same", "author", "based", "on", "a", "small", ",", "unique", "pieces", "of", "evidence", "that", "suggest", "similarity", ",", "such", "as", "a", "repetition", "of", "an", "exceptionally", "rare", "code", "snippet", ",", "asset", ",", "or", "a", "particular", "string", "in", "the", "debug", "logs", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "Every", "once", "in", "a", "while", ",", "authors", "leave", "behind", "a", "trace", "that", "allows", "us", "to", "attribute", "not", "only", "similar", "apps", ",", "but", "also", "multiple", "different", "PHA", "families", "to", "the", "same", "group", "or", "person", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "However", ",", "the", "actual", "timeline", "of", "the", "creation", "of", "different", "variants", "is", "unclear", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "In", "April", "2013", ",", "we", "saw", "the", "first", "sample", ",", "which", "made", "heavy", "use", "of", "dynamic", "code", "loading", "(", "i.e.", ",", "fetching", "executable", "code", "from", "remote", "sources", "after", "the", "initial", "app", "is", "installed", ")", "." ]	[ 18, 8, 17, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "Dynamic", "code", "loading", "makes", "it", "impossible", "to", "state", "what", "kind", "of", "PHA", "it", "was", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "This", "sample", "displayed", "ads", "from", "various", "sources", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "More", "recent", "variants", "blend", "rooting", "capabilities", "and", "click", "fraud", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 12, 18 ]
[ "As", "rooting", "exploits", "on", "Android", "become", "less", "prevalent", "and", "lucrative", ",", "PHA", "authors", "adapt", "their", "abuse", "or", "monetization", "strategy", "to", "focus", "on", "tactics", "like", "click", "fraud", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 12, 18 ]
[ "This", "post", "does", "n't", "follow", "the", "chronological", "evolution", "of", "Zen", ",", "but", "instead", "covers", "relevant", "samples", "from", "least", "to", "most", "complex", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]
[ "Apps", "with", "a", "custom-made", "advertisement", "SDK", "The", "simplest", "PHA", "from", "the", "author", "'s", "portfolio", "used", "a", "specially", "crafted", "advertisement", "SDK", "to", "create", "a", "proxy", "for", "all", "ads-related", "network", "traffic", "." ]	[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Virulent", "Android", "malware", "returns", ",", "gets", ">", "2", "million", "downloads", "on", "Google", "Play", "A", "virulent", "family", "of", "malware", "that", "infected", "more", "than", "10", "million", "Android", "devices", "last", "year", "has", "made", "a", "comeback", ",", "this", "time", "hiding", "inside", "Google", "Play", "apps", "that", "have", "been", "downloaded", "by", "as", "many", "as", "12", "million", "unsuspecting", "users", "." ]

[ 2, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "HummingWhale", ",", "as", "the", "professionally", "developed", "malware", "has", "been", "dubbed", ",", "is", "a", "variant", "of", "HummingBad", ",", "the", "name", "given", "to", "a", "family", "of", "malicious", "apps", "researchers", "documented", "in", "July", "invading", "non-Google", "app", "markets", "." ]

[ 2, 11, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "HummingBad", "attempted", "to", "override", "security", "protections", "by", "exploiting", "unpatched", "vulnerabilities", "that", "gave", "the", "malware", "root", "privileges", "in", "older", "versions", "of", "Android", "." ]

[ 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18 ]

[ "Before", "Google", "shut", "it", "down", ",", "it", "installed", "more", "than", "50,000", "fraudulent", "apps", "each", "day", ",", "displayed", "20", "million", "malicious", "advertisements", ",", "and", "generated", "more", "than", "$", "300,000", "per", "month", "in", "revenue", "." ]

[ 18, 5, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Of", "the", "10", "million", "people", "who", "downloaded", "HummingBad-contaminated", "apps", ",", "an", "estimated", "286,000", "of", "them", "were", "located", "in", "the", "US", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 1, 18 ]

[ "HummingWhale", ",", "by", "contrast", ",", "managed", "to", "sneak", "its", "way", "into", "about", "20", "Google", "Play", "apps", "that", "were", "downloaded", "from", "2", "million", "to", "12", "million", "times", ",", "according", "to", "researchers", "from", "Check", "Point", ",", "the", "security", "company", "that", "has", "been", "closely", "following", "the", "malware", "family", "for", "almost", "a", "year", "." ]

[ 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Rather", "than", "rooting", "devices", ",", "the", "latest", "variant", "includes", "new", "virtual", "machine", "techniques", "that", "allow", "the", "malware", "to", "perform", "ad", "fraud", "better", "than", "ever", ",", "company", "researchers", "said", "in", "a", "blog", "post", "published", "Monday", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "\"", "Users", "must", "realize", "that", "they", "can", "no", "longer", "trust", "in", "installing", "only", "apps", "with", "a", "high", "reputation", "from", "official", "app", "stores", "as", "their", "sole", "defense", ",", "''", "the", "researchers", "wrote", "in", "an", "e-mail", "to", "Ars", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "\"", "This", "malware", "employs", "several", "tactics", "to", "keep", "its", "activity", "hidden", ",", "meaning", "users", "might", "be", "unaware", "of", "its", "existence", "on", "their", "device", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "''", "As", "was", "the", "case", "with", "HummingBad", ",", "the", "purpose", "of", "HummingWhale", "is", "to", "generate", "revenue", "by", "displaying", "fraudulent", "ads", "and", "automatically", "installing", "apps", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "When", "users", "try", "to", "close", "the", "ads", ",", "the", "new", "functionality", "causes", "already", "downloaded", "apps", "to", "run", "in", "a", "virtual", "machine", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "That", "creates", "a", "fake", "ID", "that", "allows", "the", "perpetrators", "to", "generate", "referral", "revenues", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Use", "of", "the", "virtual", "machine", "brings", "many", "technical", "benefits", "to", "the", "operators", ",", "chief", "among", "them", "allowing", "the", "malware", "to", "install", "apps", "without", "requiring", "users", "to", "approve", "a", "list", "of", "elevated", "permissions", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "The", "VM", "also", "disguises", "the", "malicious", "activity", ",", "making", "it", "easier", "for", "the", "apps", "to", "infiltrate", "Google", "Play", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18 ]

[ "It", "has", "the", "added", "benefit", "of", "installing", "a", "nearly", "unlimited", "number", "of", "fraudulent", "apps", "without", "overloading", "the", "infected", "device", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Until", "now", ",", "Android", "malware", "that", "wanted", "advanced", "capabilities", "typically", "had", "to", "trick", "users", "into", "approving", "sometimes", "scary-sounding", "permissions", "or", "exploit", "rooting", "vulnerabilities", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Ginning", "the", "ratings", "To", "implement", "the", "VM", "feature", ",", "the", "malicious", "APK", "installation", "dropper", "used", "by", "HummingWhale", "uses", "DroidPlugin", ",", "an", "extension", "originally", "developed", "by", "developers", "from", "China-based", "company", "Qihoo", "360", ",", "Check", "Point", "said", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 7, 16, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18 ]

[ "HummingWhale", "has", "also", "been", "observed", "hiding", "the", "original", "malicious", "app", "once", "it", "'s", "installed", "and", "trying", "to", "improve", "its", "Google", "Play", "reputation", "by", "automatically", "generating", "posts", "disguised", "as", "positive", "user", "comments", "and", "ratings", "." ]

[ 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Gooligan", ",", "a", "family", "of", "Android", "malware", "that", "came", "to", "light", "in", "November", "after", "it", "compromised", "more", "than", "1", "million", "Google", "accounts", ",", "contained", "similar", "abilities", "to", "tamper", "with", "Google", "Play", "ratings", "." ]

[ 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 8, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18 ]

[ "People", "who", "want", "to", "know", "if", "their", "Android", "devices", "are", "infected", "can", "download", "the", "Check", "Point", "app", "here", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "A", "separate", "app", "from", "Check", "Point", "competitor", "Lookout", "also", "detects", "the", "threat", "as", "a", "variant", "of", "the", "Shedun", "malware", "family", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 5, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "More", "technically", "inclined", "people", "can", "detect", "infections", "by", "seeing", "if", "a", "device", "connects", "to", "a", "control", "server", "located", "at", "app.blinkingcamera.com", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Package", "names", "for", "infected", "apps", "typically", "contain", "a", "common", "naming", "structure", "that", "includes", "com.XXXXXXXXX.camera", ",", "for", "example", "com.bird.sky.whale.camera", "(", "app", "name", ":", "Whale", "Camera", ")", ",", "com.color.rainbow.camera", "(", "Rainbow", "Camera", ")", ",", "and", "com.fishing.when.orangecamera", "(", "Orange", "Camera", ")", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18 ]

[ "HummingWhale", "virus", "is", "the", "new", "scourge", "of", "the", "Google", "Play", "Store", "The", "HummingBad", "virus", "that", "affected", "millions", "of", "Android", "users", "last", "year", "has", "not", "gone", "away", ";", "in", "fact", ",", "it", "has", "returned", "with", "a", "vengeance", "under", "a", "new", "name", ":", "HummingWhale", "." ]

[ 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 9, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18 ]

[ "The", "HummingBad", "virus", "revealed", "in", "July", "of", "last", "year", "was", "one", "of", "the", "worst", "pieces", "of", "malware", "catalogued", ",", "infecting", "as", "many", "as", "85m", "Android", "phones", "around", "the", "globe", "." ]

[ 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 8, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Originating", "from", "a", "Chinese", "cyber-criminal", "gang", "called", "Yingmob", ",", "the", "security", "research", "company", "Check", "Point", "believed", "it", "was", "earning", "as", "much", "as", "$", "300,000", "a", "month", "in", "fraudulent", "adware", "by", "establishing", "a", "persistent", "rootkit", "on", "Android", "devices", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18 ]

[ "From", "bad", "to", "whale", "HummingBad", "was", "so", "widespread", ",", "Check", "Point", "said", ",", "that", "in", "the", "first", "half", "of", "2016", ",", "it", "reached", "fourth", "place", "in", "‘", "the", "most", "prevalent", "malware", "globally", "’", "list", ",", "and", "dominated", "the", "mobile", "threat", "landscape", "with", "more", "than", "72pc", "of", "attacks", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 8, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Now", "in", "the", "first", "month", "of", "2017", ",", "Check", "Point", "has", "warned", "Android", "users", "that", "HummingBad", "is", "back", "in", "a", "big", "way", ",", "this", "time", "under", "the", "new", "moniker", "of", "HummingWhale", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 8, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18 ]

[ "To", "make", "matters", "worse", "for", "anyone", "who", "may", "have", "unknowingly", "downloaded", "an", "affected", "app", ",", "it", "has", "much", "more", "advanced", "tools", "than", "its", "predecessor", ",", "allowing", "it", "to", "perform", "ad", "fraud", "at", "an", "unprecedented", "scale", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "One", "of", "the", "new", "HummingWhale", "apps", "came", "to", "the", "attention", "of", "Check", "Point", "after", "it", "noticed", "a", "familiar", "piece", "of", "code", "that", "appeared", "in", "not", "one", ",", "but", "a", "dozen", "different", "apps", ",", "which", "indicated", "that", "malware", "was", "installed", "within", "them", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Can", "install", "infinite", "number", "of", "malware", "apps", "All", "of", "the", "apps", "found", "were", "uploaded", "using", "the", "names", "of", "fake", "Chinese", "developers", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "In", "addition", "to", "these", "apps", ",", "16", "distinct", "package", "names", "related", "to", "the", "same", "malware", "were", "found", "on", "the", "Google", "Play", "Store", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 9, 18 ]

[ "The", "most", "alarming", "element", "of", "the", "app", "was", "a", "1.3MB", "file", "called", "‘", "assets/group.png", "’", ",", "a", "suspiciously", "large", "file", "that", "matched", "many", "of", "the", "traits", "seen", "in", "HummingBad", ",", "indicating", "the", "link", "between", "HummingWhale", "and", "its", "predecessor", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "A", "HummingWhale", "app", "will", "provide", "a", "user", "with", "fake", "ads", "that", "will", "become", "particularly", "harmful", "to", "them", "if", "opened", "." ]

[ 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "“", "Once", "the", "user", "tries", "to", "close", "the", "ad", ",", "the", "app", ",", "which", "was", "already", "downloaded", "by", "the", "malware", ",", "is", "uploaded", "to", "the", "virtual", "machine", "and", "run", "as", "if", "it", "is", "a", "real", "device", ",", "”", "Check", "Point", "said", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18 ]

[ "The", "HummingWhale", "method", "allows", "cyber-criminals", "to", "have", "the", "malware", "installed", "through", "apps", "without", "being", "noticeably", "suspicious", "by", "asking", "for", "a", "number", "of", "different", "permissions", "." ]

[ 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "It", "can", "also", "be", "installed", "on", "an", "infinite", "number", "of", "fraudulent", "apps", "without", "overloading", "the", "device", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "“", "This", "is", "a", "prime", "example", "of", "malware", "developers", "learning", "from", "each", "other", ",", "as", "tactics", "that", "were", "introduced", "by", "one", "of", "them", "are", "quickly", "adopted", "by", "others", ",", "”", "Check", "Point", "said", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 5, 14, 18, 18 ]

[ "PHA", "Family", "Highlights", ":", "Zen", "and", "its", "cousins", "January", "11", ",", "2019", "Google", "Play", "Protect", "detects", "Potentially", "Harmful", "Applications", "(", "PHAs", ")", "which", "Google", "Play", "Protect", "defines", "as", "any", "mobile", "app", "that", "poses", "a", "potential", "security", "risk", "to", "users", "or", "to", "user", "data—commonly", "referred", "to", "as", "\"", "malware", "." ]

[ 3, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 8, 17, 17, 17, 0, 9, 9, 18, 3, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 18, 0, 9, 9, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "''", "in", "a", "variety", "of", "ways", ",", "such", "as", "static", "analysis", ",", "dynamic", "analysis", ",", "and", "machine", "learning", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 17, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "While", "our", "systems", "are", "great", "at", "automatically", "detecting", "and", "protecting", "against", "PHAs", ",", "we", "believe", "the", "best", "security", "comes", "from", "the", "combination", "of", "automated", "scanning", "and", "skilled", "human", "review", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "With", "this", "blog", "series", "we", "will", "be", "sharing", "our", "research", "analysis", "with", "the", "research", "and", "broader", "security", "community", ",", "starting", "with", "the", "PHA", "family", ",", "Zen", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 2, 18 ]

[ "Zen", "uses", "root", "permissions", "on", "a", "device", "to", "automatically", "enable", "a", "service", "that", "creates", "fake", "Google", "accounts", "." ]

[ 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 9, 18 ]

[ "These", "accounts", "are", "created", "by", "abusing", "accessibility", "services", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 18 ]

[ "Zen", "apps", "gain", "access", "to", "root", "permissions", "from", "a", "rooting", "trojan", "in", "its", "infection", "chain", "." ]

[ 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "In", "this", "blog", "post", ",", "we", "do", "not", "differentiate", "between", "the", "rooting", "component", "and", "the", "component", "that", "abuses", "root", ":", "we", "refer", "to", "them", "interchangeably", "as", "Zen", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18 ]

[ "We", "also", "describe", "apps", "that", "we", "think", "are", "coming", "from", "the", "same", "author", "or", "a", "group", "of", "authors", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "All", "of", "the", "PHAs", "that", "are", "mentioned", "in", "this", "blog", "post", "were", "detected", "and", "removed", "by", "Google", "Play", "Protect", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 0, 9, 9, 18 ]

[ "Background", "Uncovering", "PHAs", "takes", "a", "lot", "of", "detective", "work", "and", "unraveling", "the", "mystery", "of", "how", "they", "'re", "possibly", "connected", "to", "other", "apps", "takes", "even", "more", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "PHA", "authors", "usually", "try", "to", "hide", "their", "tracks", ",", "so", "attribution", "is", "difficult", "." ]

[ 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Sometimes", ",", "we", "can", "attribute", "different", "apps", "to", "the", "same", "author", "based", "on", "a", "small", ",", "unique", "pieces", "of", "evidence", "that", "suggest", "similarity", ",", "such", "as", "a", "repetition", "of", "an", "exceptionally", "rare", "code", "snippet", ",", "asset", ",", "or", "a", "particular", "string", "in", "the", "debug", "logs", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Every", "once", "in", "a", "while", ",", "authors", "leave", "behind", "a", "trace", "that", "allows", "us", "to", "attribute", "not", "only", "similar", "apps", ",", "but", "also", "multiple", "different", "PHA", "families", "to", "the", "same", "group", "or", "person", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "However", ",", "the", "actual", "timeline", "of", "the", "creation", "of", "different", "variants", "is", "unclear", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "In", "April", "2013", ",", "we", "saw", "the", "first", "sample", ",", "which", "made", "heavy", "use", "of", "dynamic", "code", "loading", "(", "i.e.", ",", "fetching", "executable", "code", "from", "remote", "sources", "after", "the", "initial", "app", "is", "installed", ")", "." ]

[ 18, 8, 17, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Dynamic", "code", "loading", "makes", "it", "impossible", "to", "state", "what", "kind", "of", "PHA", "it", "was", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "This", "sample", "displayed", "ads", "from", "various", "sources", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "More", "recent", "variants", "blend", "rooting", "capabilities", "and", "click", "fraud", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 12, 18 ]

[ "As", "rooting", "exploits", "on", "Android", "become", "less", "prevalent", "and", "lucrative", ",", "PHA", "authors", "adapt", "their", "abuse", "or", "monetization", "strategy", "to", "focus", "on", "tactics", "like", "click", "fraud", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 4, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 12, 18 ]

[ "This", "post", "does", "n't", "follow", "the", "chronological", "evolution", "of", "Zen", ",", "but", "instead", "covers", "relevant", "samples", "from", "least", "to", "most", "complex", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 2, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]

[ "Apps", "with", "a", "custom-made", "advertisement", "SDK", "The", "simplest", "PHA", "from", "the", "author", "'s", "portfolio", "used", "a", "specially", "crafted", "advertisement", "SDK", "to", "create", "a", "proxy", "for", "all", "ads-related", "network", "traffic", "." ]

[ 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 3, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18 ]