Xiaomi, Lenovo, Huawei smartphones have pre-installed espionage functions

PanARMENIAN.Net - Smartphones from leading smartphone makers have been found to be pre-installed with spyware according to security company G Data's Mobile Malware Report for the second quarter of 2015, CNN-IBN News reports.

"Over 26 models from some well-known manufacturers including Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi have pre-installed espionage functions in the firmware," says G Data. "Over the past year we have been observing a significant increase in devices that are equipped with firmware-level spyware and malware out of the box."

Along with the rapid increase in smartphone use around the world the number of malware apps has also sharply increased in the past three years. Security analysts identify a new malware sample every 14 seconds.

Experts suspect middlemen to be behind this, who change the firmware to be able to steal user data and make money through advertising. Some of the malware apps disguise themselves as part of other popular apps such as Google Drive and Facebook.

The spyware apps can access phone content and also listen to conversations and access IM messages.