11 September 2017, India:
After WannaCry, Judy Malware, Xavier Android malware, Petrwrap and god knows what yet another malware has been detected in India. A new malware Xafecopy Trojan steals money through victims’ mobile phones as per the report by cyber security firm Kaspersky.
Xafecopy has hit more than 4,800 users in 47 countries within the space of a month, with 37.5 per cent of the attacks detected and blocked by Kaspersky Lab products targeting India, followed by Russia, Turkey and Mexico.
“Our research suggests WAP billing attacks are on the rise. Xafecopy’s attacks targeted countries where this payment method is popular. The malware has also been detected with different modifications, such as the ability to text messages from a mobile device to premium-rate phone numbers, and to delete incoming text messages to hide alerts from mobile network operators about stolen money,” Kaspersky Lab Senior Malware Analyst Roman Unuchek said.
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“It is best not to trust third-party apps, and whatever apps users do download should be scanned locally with the Verify Apps utility. But beyond that, Android users should be running a mobile security suite on their devices,” he added.
Xafecopy Trojan is disguised as useful apps like BatteryMaster and operates normally. The trojan secretly loads malicious code onto the device. Once the app is activated, the Xafecopy malware clicks on web pages with Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) billing—a form of mobile payment that charges costs directly to the user’s mobile phone bill.
After this the malware silently subscribes the phone to a number of services, the report said. The process also does not require the user to register a debit or credit card or set up a user-name and password. The malware uses technology to bypass ‘captcha’ systems designed to protect users by confirming the action is being performed by a human.
Kaspersky Lab, managing director – South Asia, Altaf Halde said that Android users need to be extremely cautious in how they download apps. “It is best not to trust third-party apps, and whatever apps users do download should be scanned locally with the Verify Apps utility. But beyond that, Android users should be running a mobile security suite on their devices.” (Image- siasat.com)
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