Fake Angry Birds Slingshot Malware Onto Android Phones

Some folks are getting more villains than they bargained for when downloading software claiming to be Angry Birds Space.

Gamemaker Rovio and antivirus firms are cautioning of malware-laden software disguising itself as the latest installment of the popular game series.

“As you get ready to pop pigs in zero gravity, watch out for fake versions of Angry Birds Space, and make sure to download safe by getting the official game from Rovio,” the Angry Birds maker warned on its Web site Thursday.

Sophos warned that a program purporting to be the Android version of the game actually installs malware and could render infected phones vulnerable to control by hackers. The malware-laden titles showed up on various alternative Android app marketplaces, not the official Google Play store.

“The Trojan horse, which Sophos detects as Andr/KongFu-L, appears to be a fully-functional version of the popular smartphone game, but uses the GingerBreak exploit to gain root access to the device, and install malicious code,” Sophos senior technology consultant Graham Cluley said in a blog post. “The Trojan communicates with a remote website in an attempt to download and install further malware onto the compromised Android smartphone.”

The space version of Angry Birds has soared to the top of the charts since being made available last month for Android, iOS, Mac and PC. Rovio said 10 million copies were downloaded in the first three days after it was made available on March 22.