Security News > 2022 > June > International Authorities Take Down Flubot Malware Network

International law enforcement has taken down the infrastructure behind Flubot, a nasty piece of malware which had been spreading with unprecedented speed across Android devices globally since December 2020.

Europol revealed Wednesday that a collaboration between law enforcement in 11 countries led to the disruption of the Flubot network in early May by Dutch Police, or Politie, "Rendering this strain of malware inactive," according to the agency.

Flubot spread via text messages that baited Android users into clicking on a link and installing an application to track to a package delivery or listen to a fake voicemail message.

While FluBot acted like a typical trojan-stealing various credentials to banking apps or cryptocurrency accounts and disabling built-in security-its operators used unique methods to ensure the malware spread like wildfire.

In addition to using targets' own contact lists to propagate the malware, Flubot operators employed some unique and creative tactics to try to dupe Android users into downloading the trojan and even teamed up with another mobile threat during its global campaign.

Last October, Flubot used a fake security warning trying to trick users into thinking they'd already been infected with Flubot to get them to click on a fake security update spread via SMS. The unique tactic was used in a campaign against Android users in New Zealand.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/international-authorities-take-down-flubot-malware-network/179825/