The theory of malware, or self-reproducing code at least, can actually be traced back to 1949 with early experimental code and exploits in the 1970s. Like phishing and pharming, malware has shown considerable staying power on traditional devices and evolved to work with mobile devices. Mobile malware traces its roots back to a mobile virus called Timofonica in 2000. Ghost Push is a type of malware for Android devices that gains root access on the compromised device and is virtually impossible to remove without re-flashing the firmware.”]
Source: https://www.csoonline.com/article/3105608/mobile-malware-same-attacks-different-pathogens.html