Android devices found sold complete with malware out of the box

Android-driven devices, including smartphones and tablets manufactured by the likes of Asus, LG, Motorola and Samsung, are being sold with pre-installed malware according to claims made by the CTO and Founder of Marble Security. David Jevans made the claim following complaints from a potential client that a mobile security platform from the vendor was mistakenly identifying a Netflix app as being malware. Upon further investigation, Marble researchers discovered that the apps in question were not only malware but were actively harvesting both passwords and financial data which were being sent to a Russian server. Although malware is nothing new, and Android malware distribution in particular is growing at a phenomenal rate year on year according to just about every bit of statistical evidence I have seen, what peaked the interest of Jevans was the fact that the victim in question insisted that the malicious apps were pre-installed on the devices and there when they purchased them.