BEWARE! This Software Will Steal Your Banking Credentials From Your Phone

According to a security advisory from the Commission’s CSIRT, the software identified as Xenomorph targeted 56 financial institutions from Europe. It is said to have a high impact and vulnerability rate.

In a statement, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, the Commission’s Director, Public Affairs, explained that Xenomorph is propagated by an application that was slipped into Google Play store and masquerading as a legitimate application called ‘Fast Cleaner’.

He said it is ostensibly meant to clear junk, increase device speed and optimize battery.

In reality, the app, according to the statement, is only a means by which the Xenomorph Trojan could be propagated easily and efficiently.

He emphasised that the main intent of the malware is to steal credentials, combined with the use of SMS and Notification interception to log-in and use potential two-factor authentication tokens.

Once up and running on a victim’s device, Xenomorph according to the team, can harvest device information and Short Messaging Service (SMS), intercept notifications and new SMS messages, perform overlay attacks, and prevent users from uninstalling it. The threat also asks for Accessibility Services privileges, which allow it to grant itself further permissions.

“To avoid early detection or being denied access to the PlayStore, ‘Fast Cleaner’ was disseminated before the malware was placed on the remote server, making it hard for Google to determine that such an app is being used for malicious actions.”