Trustlook Launches the First Anti-Rootkit Tool on Android

SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - October 15, 2015) - Trustlook Inc, an innovative mobile security start-up in Silicon Valley, has launched the first anti-rootkit tool on Android, as a solution for the increasing number of rooting attacks on Android platform.

What is an Android Rootkit?

Android Rootkit is a kind of apps that exploit vulnerabilities to breach Android's security model, gaining themselves a higher privilege than common apps. After a phone is compromised by a rootkit, the apps' private data can be accessed without restriction (apps like Gmail and Facebook). 3rd party apps could be installed in the background without users' knowledge - putting the users' data and privacy in serious danger.

During the past few months, several security incidents are related to the rootkits, such as the “GhostPush” malware which could infect 600,000 Android phones in a single day.

However, some users might voluntarily root their phones, to gain more “freedom” such as use a paid app for free, or uninstall system apps. Some big players in the mobile industry has integrated rooting as a feature in their products.

"This is really a phenomena in computer history, in which users are essentially voluntarily launching attacks against their own devices to gain control," said Zhiyun Qian, assistant professor from University of California, Riverside. Prof Qian’s team has just published a research about extracting root exploits from the commercial root providers, and the risk once they are being abused by hackers. (http://goo.gl/bUAapP)

What is Trustlook's solution?

In the same day that Professor Qian’s research is published, Trustlook has launched the first Android anti-rootkit tool - The “Rootkit detector” (https://goo.gl/2fgqm8). This tool is capable of detecting all the popular rooting components, and warn the user if the phone has been compromised. Besides, this app can also find the source of a rooting attack, guiding the user to remove the threat.

About Trustlook

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Silicon Valley, Trustlook is a global leader in next-generation mobile security solutions. Trustlook pioneers and provides the first APT (advanced persistent threat) mobile security solutions to detect and address zero-day and advanced malware. The Trustlook team consists of security industry veterans. For more information, please visit www.trustlook.com.