Security News > 2021 > November > Finland Faces Blizzard of FluBot-Spreading Text Messages
The Flubot banking trojan is blanketing Finland, spreading via Android phones that are sending millions of malicious text messages.
On Friday, the National Cyber Security Centre at the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency posted a "Severe" alert about the malware blizzard, which it said was spreading via dozens of message variants that are sneezing out Flubot like mad. Once installed, Flubot sets about gaining permissions, stealing banking information and credentials, lifting passwords stored on the device and squirreling away various pieces of personal information.
"An Android malware called Flubot is being spread by SMS. According to our current estimate, tens of thousands of messages have been sent to people in Finland during one day. We expect the amount to increase in the coming days and weeks," said Aino-Maria Väyrynen, information security adviser at the NCSC-FI, in the alert.
The malicious text messages are using come-ons that tell targets that they've received a voicemail or a message from their mobile operator.
A Flubot mobile malware campaign was unleashed in Finland in June 2021 and persisted into August, sending messages written in Finnish to thousands of Finns.
The currently active malware for Android devices spread by sending text messages from infected devices.