Android Trojan Horse Spyware Attack: A Practical Implementation

Considering the popularity of rapidly growing mobile device use, this study delves into the persistent threat of Trojan horses, focusing on one select mobile OS platform, Android. To demonstrate the heightened risk Trojan horses pose due to their seemingly benign nature, we develop a novel deliberate Trojan horse spyware from scratch to discreetly harvest sensitive data from Android devices. This spyware can clandestinely access device information such as SMSs, contacts, call logs, and installed apps, transmitting the pilfered data to a remote server through a covert background process. Remarkably, the Trojan horse offers remote control capabilities, allowing manipulation from the command- and-control server (C&C server) to launch (D)DoS attacks on specified IP addresses. Notably, the Trojan horse showcases its efficacy as a cyber espionage tool by successfully aiding infiltration of Gmail and Facebook accounts. Its ability to operate persistently with zero-click adds an alarming dimension to its threat. Our experiments yield promising results advocating for the strength and discreet nature of our spyware tool that offers a comprehensive evaluation of Android OS security. The comparison results significantly exceed the performance of existing similar tools. Ultimately, our design will create awareness and enhance Android security.