Security News

"The Trojan Triada snuck into one of these modified versions of the messenger called FMWhatsApp 16.80.0 together with the advertising software development kit," researchers from Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky said in a technical write-up published Tuesday. Modified versions of legitimate Android apps - aka Modding - are designed to perform functions not originally conceived or intended by the app developers, and FMWhatsApp allows users to customize the app with different themes, personalize icons, and hide features like last seen, and even deactivate video calling features.

A malicious version of the FMWhatsappWhatsApp mod delivers a Triadatrojan payload, a nasty surprise that infects their devices with additional malware, including the very hard-to-remove xHelper trojan. FMWhatsApp promises to improve the WhatsApp user experience with added features such as better privacy, custom chat themes, access to other social networks' emoji packs, and app locking using a PIN, password, or the touch ID. However, as Kaspersky researchers found, the FMWhatsapp 16.80.0 version will also drop the Triada trojan on users' devices with the help of an advertising SDK. Trojan harvests device info and installs more malware.

UNISOC announced that it has joined Google's new Android Ready SE Alliance, a collaboration between Google and Secure Element vendors, to offer a growing list of open-source, validated, and ready-to-use SE Applets for new and emerging use cases such as digital keys, identity credentials, E-money solutions. The alliance was created to make discrete tamper resistant hardware backed security the lowest common denominator for the Android ecosystem, which makes emerging applications on smart terminals more secure and convenient.

A new Android trojan has been found to compromise Facebook accounts of over 10,000 users in at least 144 countries since March 2021 via fraudulent apps distributed through Google Play Store and other third-party app marketplaces. Dubbed "FlyTrap," the previously undocumented malware is believed to be part of a family of trojans that employ social engineering tricks to breach Facebook accounts as part of a session hijacking campaign orchestrated by malicious actors operating out of Vietnam, according to a report published by Zimperium's zLabs today and shared with The Hacker News.

A new Android trojan has been found to compromise Facebook accounts of over 10,000 users in at least 144 countries since March 2021 via fraudulent apps distributed through Google Play Store and other third-party app marketplaces. Dubbed "FlyTrap," the previously undocumented malware is believed to be part of a family of trojans that employ social engineering tricks to breach Facebook accounts as part of a session hijacking campaign orchestrated by malicious actors operating out of Vietnam, according to a report published by Zimperium's zLabs today and shared with The Hacker News.

Researchers have uncovered a new Android trojan, dubbed FlyTrap, that's spread to more than 10,000 victims via rigged apps on third-party app stores, sideloaded apps and hijacked Facebook accounts. Before the malware apps dish out the promised goodies, targeted users are told to log in with their Facebook accounts to cast their vote or collect the coupon code or credits.

These apps attempt to capture such Facebook data as your ID, location, IP address and associated cookies, says Zimperium. A malicious campaign uncovered by mobile security provider Zimperium found malicious Android apps that employed social engineering tactics to gain access to the Facebook accounts of their victims.

The Iran-linked hacking group named Charming Kitten has added a new Android backdoor to its arsenal and successfully compromised individuals associated with the Iranian reformist movement, according to security researchers with IBM's X-Force threat intelligence team. Last year, the group accidentally exposed approximately 40 GB of videos and other content associated with its operations, including training videos on how to exfiltrate data from online accounts, and clips detailing the successful compromise of certain targets.

Google this week pushed out a security-themed Android update with fixes for more than 30 security flaws that expose mobile users to a range of malicious hacker attacks. The latest Android update provides documentation on 33 security bugs, some serious enough to cause privilege escalation or information disclosure compromises.

TechRepublic's Karen Roby interviews Lance Whitney about a recent report that detailed how cryptomining scams targeted Android app users and stole an estimated $350,000 from more than 93,000 people.