Android ransomware posing as porn app

[Originally blogged for AVIEN, where I maintain a ransomware information resource page, but of relevance here too since I often write here about Android.]

Martin Zhang blogs for Symantec about the Android ransomware the company calls Android.Lockdroid.E here: Android ransomware variant uses clickjacking to become device administrator

The malware passes itself off as a porn app. It encrypts files, but if it succeeds in gaining access rights, it also has the ability to lock the device, change the PIN, and delete data via a factory reset.

The clickjacking technique it uses apparently works with versions of Android prior to version 5.0. Unfortunately, that may include up to 67% of Android devices.

Commentary by Pierluigi Paganini here.