Android users are, once again, coming under attack from hackers and the latest alert could put some off ever downloading another app onto their devices. The fresh warning has been issued after the resurgence of the vicious Godfather bug which is fully capable of stealing banking credentials including user names and passwords.
According to the security team at Group-IB, there’s been a rapid increase in attacks over the past few months with some 400 banks and cryptocurrency apps thought to be affected.
Users in 14 counties, including the US and UK, have been targeted by the rebooted malware which is able to overly a fake page over the official login screens when phone owners try and access their online services.
This tactic allows hackers to siphon private data, including private passwords, which can then be used to access personal accounts.
The bug is being distributed via fake apps found on the web although there have also been some attempts to distribute Godfather via Google’s trusted official Play Store which makes the attack even more frightening.
To make matters worse, cyber thieves have even been able to create a clever way for it to avoid being detected by Google’s Protect service which means Android users may never know they’ve installed the money-stealing threat onto their phones.
Once the bug is loaded, it can launch a Google Protect emulator that looks just like the real security scanner.
If a user then taps the “Scan” button, a fake search takes place and reveals no threats have been found despite the device already being infected.
Godfather was actually first created back in June 2021 with researchers at Threat Fabric announcing its discovery almost a year later. It has since been modified to help it infiltrate more devices with the latest iteration of the malware appearing in September 2022.
It’s a worrying hazard that needs to be taken seriously – especially for anyone who likes to sideload apps from unofficial sources.
“The Android banking Trojan Godfather is currently being utilized by cybercriminals to attack users of popular financial services across the globe,” Group-IB confirmed in a blog.
“Godfather is designed to allow threat actors to harvest login credentials for banking applications and other financial services, and drain the accounts. To date, its victims include users of over 400 international targets, including banking applications, cryptocurrency wallets, and crypto exchanges.”
It’s now more vital than ever that all Android users check apps before installing them and only download software from official sources such as the Google Play Store.
It’s also wise to check previous reviews and make sure the developers who have created the applications are reputable.
Another top tip is to always check the permissions an app wants before installation. If you don’t feel happy with the access it is after DON’T download it.
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