Security 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.
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.
A newly discovered Android banking Trojan relies on screen recording and keylogging instead of HTML overlays for the capturing of login credentials, according to security researchers at ThreatFabric. ThreatFabric said the mobile malware leverages the Accessibility Services to identify the application running in the foreground and, if the app is in the target list, the malware starts screen recording.
Google is emailing Android users to let them know that, starting late September, they will no longer be able to log in to their Google accounts on devices running Android 2.3.7 and lower. "As part of our ongoing efforts to keep our users safe, Google will no longer allow sign-in on Android devices that run Android 2.3.7 or lower starting September 27, 2021," Android Help Community Manager Zak Pollack explained.
Google has shared details of upcoming changes to Android including the ability to blank a device's advertising ID, and a new safety section for apps in the Play store. The advertising ID is an identifier unique to an Android device which is supplied by Google Play Services.