A recent report surfaced that numerous android devices were released with preloaded malicious software. This raised the alarm bar on Android security among the users of Android devices.

The excitement of seeing new Android devices released in the market is everywhere given that 2016 and 2017 were packed with numerous releases. However, as little as it is known, there were many new Android devices released recently that were found to be already infected at launch. A sounding 38 devices were discovered to contain pre-installed malware and software that most of the users, if not all, have no idea of.

A recent blog post published by cyber security company Check Point revealed that 38 Android-run devices have caught the severe infection. This is actually not new considering the growing number of hackers spreading the malware. The alarming thing about this recently reported malware is that they were not downloaded by the users in any way but were on the device already at launch.

The discovery showed that these infected devices already have the malware even before users get their hands on them. In addition, it was found out that the malware was not part of the official ROM produced by the maker. In other words, the malicious software was most likely embedded into the Android devices somewhere along the supply chain.

Furthermore, there were six cases of malware infection where the malicious software was found to be installed on the ROM of the Android devices using system privileges. This connotes that it is impossible for users to remove the malware themselves. This entails re-flashing in order for the malicious apps to be removed.

The 38 Android devices that were released preloaded with malware come from two separate companies that were not named. They were only referred to as a multinational company and a large telecom company. Ars Technica reported that there is no clear indication whether these companies were targeted by those who injected the malware or if the act was a part of a campaign on devices sold to enterprises.