In yet another instance of a “Deviant mind” inside an otherwise brilliant security professional, a 20 year old security researcher who has worked as an intern in a security company doing research on mobile malware has been arrested for creating a malware himself.
The malware created by Morgan Culbertson, of Pittsburgh infects Android phones, steals data and takes control of the device. It can take stealthily screen shots, photos, videos and audio recordings from the target phone. The software was sold for $300 in the underground market. The incident came to light with the busting of the online black market identified as “Darkode”.
While one can regret the nature of human tendencies to misapply our capabilities to wrong ends in greed for money, the incident also highlights the need for better psychometric analysis of people who work in security research companies.
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Naavi