Capture Audio
Adversaries may capture audio to collect information on a user of a mobile device using standard operating system APIs. Adversaries may target audio information such as user conversations, surroundings, phone calls, or other sensitive information.
Android and iOS, by default, requires that an application request access to microphone devices from the user. In Android, applications must hold the android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO permission to access the microphone and the android.permission.CAPTURE_AUDIO_OUTPUT permission to access audio output such as speakers. Android does not allow third-party applications to hold android.permission.CAPTURE_AUDIO_OUTPUT, so audio output can only be obtained by privileged applications (distributed by Google or the device vendor) or after a successful privilege escalation attack. In iOS, applications must include the NSMicrophoneUsageDescription key in their Info.plist file.
Procedure Examples
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| AndroRAT | |
| Anubis |
Anubis can record phone calls and audio, and can make phone calls.[21] |
| Corona Updates |
Corona Updates can record MP4 files and monitor calls.[22] |
| Dendroid | |
| DroidJack | |
| Exodus |
Exodus Two can record audio from the compromised device's microphone and can record call audio in 3GP format.[16] |
| FinFisher |
FinFisher uses the device microphone to record phone conversations.[15] |
| FlexiSpy |
FlexiSpy can record both incoming and outgoing phone calls, as well as microphone audio.[2] |
| GolfSpy | |
| Monokle |
Monokle can record audio from the device's microphone and can record phone calls, specifying the output audio quality.[17] |
| Pallas | |
| Pegasus for Android |
Pegasus for Android has the ability to record device audio.[7] |
| Pegasus for iOS |
Pegasus for iOS has the ability to record audio.[12] |
| RCSAndroid |
RCSAndroid can record audio using the device microphone.[9] |
| RedDrop |
RedDrop captures live recordings of the device's surroundings.[13] |
| Skygofree |
Skygofree can record audio via the microphone when an infected device is in a specified location.[11] |
| SpyDealer | |
| SpyNote RAT |
SpyNote RAT can activate the victim's microphone.[6] |
| Stealth Mango |
Stealth Mango can record audio using the device microphone.[3] |
| Tangelo |
Tangelo contains functionality to record calls as well as the victim device's environment.[3] |
| ViceLeaker |
ViceLeaker can record audio from the device’s microphone and can record phone calls together with the caller ID.[18][19] |
| XLoader |
Mitigations
| Mitigation | Description |
|---|---|
| Application Vetting |
Applications using the android permission |
| Use Recent OS Version |
Android 9 and above restricts access to microphone, camera, and other sensors from background applications.[1] |
Detection
On both Android (6.0 and up) and iOS, the user can view which applications have permission to use the microphone through the device settings screen, and the user can choose to revoke the permissions.
References
- Android Developers. (, January). Android 9+ Privacy Changes . Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- Actis B. (2017, April 22). FlexSpy Application Analysis. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- Lookout. (n.d.). Stealth Mango & Tangelo. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
- Marc Rogers. (2014, March 6). Dendroid malware can take over your camera, record audio, and sneak into Google Play. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- Lookout. (2016, May 25). 5 active mobile threats spoofing enterprise apps. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
- Shivang Desai. (2017, January 23). SpyNote RAT posing as Netflix app. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- Mike Murray. (2017, April 3). Pegasus for Android: the other side of the story emerges. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
- Lorin Wu. (2018, April 19). XLoader Android Spyware and Banking Trojan Distributed via DNS Spoofing. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
- Veo Zhang. (2015, July 21). Hacking Team RCSAndroid Spying Tool Listens to Calls; Roots Devices to Get In. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- Wenjun Hu, Cong Zheng and Zhi Xu. (2017, July 6). SpyDealer: Android Trojan Spying on More Than 40 Apps. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- Nikita Buchka and Alexey Firsh. (2018, January 16). Skygofree: Following in the footsteps of HackingTeam. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
- Lookout. (2016). Technical Analysis of Pegasus Spyware. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
- Nell Campbell. (2018, February 27). RedDrop: the blackmailing mobile malware family lurking in app stores. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- Viral Gandhi. (2017, January 12). Super Mario Run Malware #2 – DroidJack RAT. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
- Blaich, A., et al. (2018, January 18). Dark Caracal: Cyber-espionage at a Global Scale. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- Security Without Borders. (2019, March 29). Exodus: New Android Spyware Made in Italy. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
- Bauer A., Kumar A., Hebeisen C., et al. (2019, July). Monokle: The Mobile Surveillance Tooling of the Special Technology Center. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- GReAT. (2019, June 26). ViceLeaker Operation: mobile espionage targeting Middle East. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
- L. Arsene, C. Ochinca. (2018, August 20). Triout – Spyware Framework for Android with Extensive Surveillance Capabilities. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- E. Xu, G. Guo. (2019, June 28). Mobile Cyberespionage Campaign ‘Bouncing Golf’ Affects Middle East. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
- M. Feller. (2020, February 5). Infostealer, Keylogger, and Ransomware in One: Anubis Targets More than 250 Android Applications. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- T. Bao, J. Lu. (2020, April 14). Coronavirus Update App Leads to Project Spy Android and iOS Spyware. Retrieved April 24, 2020.