Security News > 2022 > November > Android file manager apps infect thousands with Sharkbot malware
A new collection of malicious Android apps posing as harmless file managers had infiltrated the official Google Play app store, infecting users with the Sharkbot banking trojan.
Because the trojan apps are file managers, it's less likely to raise suspicions when requesting dangerous permissions for loading the Sharkbot malware.
Sharkbot is a dangerous malware that attempts to steal online bank accounts by displaying fake login forms over legitimate login prompts in banking apps.
In a new report by Bitdefender, analysts discovered the new Android trojan apps disguised as file managers and reported them to Google.
FileVoyager features the same operational pattern as X-File Manager and targets the same financial institutions in Italy and the UK. Another Sharkbot loading app spotted by Bitdefender is 'LiteCleaner M', which amassed 1,000 downloads before it got spotted and removed from the Play Store.
As the threat actors distributed these apps directly from Google Play, the best way to protect yourself is to keep the Play Protect service enabled so that malicious apps are removed as they are detected.
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