The company is still analyzing Geinimi, and it isn't clear what its creators are aiming to do with a victim's phone. But several aspects of the malware have already raised concern.

The malware communicates with a central command-and-control server. The server can issue commands to a phone remotely, such as to download or uninstall software. The user of the Android phone is prompted and must approve either action, but it still raises concern, Mahaffey said.

"It might be a vector to install other potentially malicious applications," he said.

Geinimi also sends the Android device's location and other hardware identifiers, such as the device's International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number and SIM card information, to a remote server every five minutes. It can also send a list of the Android device's installed applications. The malware can contact up to 10 domain names that are used to upload the information to the remote server.

It is Geinimi's ability to contact multiple domains and obtain instructions from a command-and-control server that Lookout decided to say it has botnet-like capabilities, Mahaffey said.