COVID-19 contact tracing fake apps spread spyware and malware

Fake government issued tracing applications are spreading malware in the cyber world.

It has been a common thing of hacker these days to use the pandemic for their advantage. There have been multiple cyber attack campaigns that are spreading using the pandemic's fear. In a recent research it was found that android applications drop spyware, trojan, and adware on targeted devices across the globe.

The alerting part is these fake apps mimic official government-issued apps for COVID-19 contact tracing. According to researchers, there are 12 such apps scamming users in 10 countries including Armenia, Brazil, Columbia, Indonesia, India, Iran, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Singapore.

The researchers further warned that the ongoing attack drops payloads like Anubis and SpyNote. Anubis is an Android banking trojan that aims at users’ financial as well as personal data. SpyNote(RAT) doesn’t require root access in order to take full control of an infected device and aims at the personal and financial data of Android users.

The apps are not available on Google Play yet, but there are many third-party app stores that have them and the apps are being shared through them. These apps can steal your sensitive data and can initiate various other attacks once in the control of such important data.

NPAV recommends users to stop downloading apps from third-party app stores and also refrain from downloading unecessary applications from Google Play store. Use NPAV mobile application to keep your android device safe and secure.

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