Capture Camera
Adversaries may utilize the camera to capture information about the user, their surroundings, or other physical identifiers. Adversaries may use the physical camera devices on a mobile device to capture images or video. By default, in Android and iOS, an application must request permission to access a camera device which is granted by the user through a request prompt. In Android, applications must hold the android.permission.CAMERA permission to access the camera. In iOS, applications must include the NSCameraUsageDescription key in the Info.plist file, and must request access to the camera at runtime.
Procedure Examples
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Concipit1248 |
Concipit1248 requests permissions to use the device camera.[15] |
| Corona Updates |
Corona Updates can take pictures using the camera and can record MP4 files.[15] |
| Dendroid |
Dendroid can take pictures using the phone’s camera as well as record video.[3] |
| DroidJack | |
| Exodus | |
| FlexiSpy | |
| GolfSpy | |
| Monokle | |
| Pallas |
Pallas can take pictures with both the front and rear-facing cameras.[9] |
| Pegasus for Android |
Pegasus for Android has the ability to take pictures using the device camera.[4] |
| RCSAndroid |
RCSAndroid can capture photos using the front and back cameras.[5] |
| Skygofree |
Skygofree can record video or capture photos when an infected device is in a specified location.[10] |
| SpyDealer |
SpyDealer can record video and take photos via front and rear cameras.[6] |
| Stealth Mango |
Stealth Mango can record and take pictures using the front and back cameras.[7] |
| ViceLeaker |
ViceLeaker can take photos from both the front and back cameras.[13] |
Mitigations
| Mitigation | Description |
|---|---|
| Application Vetting |
During the vetting process applications using the android permission |
| Use Recent OS Version |
Android 9 and above restricts access to mic, camera, and other sensors from background applications.[1] |
Detection
On Android and iOS, the user can view which applications have permission to use the camera 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.
- Marc Rogers. (2014, March 6). Dendroid malware can take over your camera, record audio, and sneak into Google Play. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- Mike Murray. (2017, April 3). Pegasus for Android: the other side of the story emerges. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
- 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.
- Lookout. (n.d.). Stealth Mango & Tangelo. Retrieved September 27, 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.
- Nikita Buchka and Alexey Firsh. (2018, January 16). Skygofree: Following in the footsteps of HackingTeam. Retrieved September 24, 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.
- E. Xu, G. Guo. (2019, June 28). Mobile Cyberespionage Campaign ‘Bouncing Golf’ Affects Middle East. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
- T. Bao, J. Lu. (2020, April 14). Coronavirus Update App Leads to Project Spy Android and iOS Spyware. Retrieved April 24, 2020.