Android malware can wreak havoc on a user. The quick growing threat can exploit data and even take control of a device incurring hidden charges. There is a new effort to battle the menace on mobile security.

To help combat malware attacks on the platform, N.C. State researcher Xuxian Jiang announced The Android Malware Genome Project at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in San Francisco. The goal of the project is to facilitate mobile security research by sharing malware-related code.

Jiang and his team are known for being the first to identify dozens of malware threats against Android.

DroidKungFu gives hackers full control over an infected device, and has ninja-like ability to avoid detection by mobile anti-virus software.

N.C. State researchers, assistant professor Xuxian Jiang and Ph.D. student Yajin Zhou, identified the new Android malware, called DroidKungFu, which is spreading via several Android app stores and forums based in China. While they have not discovered the malware beyond Chinese sources yet, the report stresses the search is in the early 'grasshopper' stage.