We found a new spyware family disguised as chat apps on a phishing website. We believe that the apps, which exhibit many cyberespionage behaviors, are initially used for a targeted attack campaign. We first came across the threat in May on the site http://gooogle.press/, which was advertising a chat app called “Chatrious.” Users can download the malicious Android application package (APK) file by clicking the download button indicated on the site.
Read More We found an app on Google Play named “Yellow Camera”, which poses as a camera and photo beautification or editing app embedded with a routine of reading SMS verification codes from the System Notifications, and, in turn, activate a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) billing. We disclosed our findings to Google, and the app, along with related ones we saw, are no longer in the Play store.
Based on the name of the file downloaded by the app, it appears it is mostly targeting users in Southeast Asia (e.g., Thailand, Malaysia). However, we’ve also seen the app targeting Chinese-speaking users, so it won’t be a surprise if the app gradually shifts or expands targets. While the app has already been taken down in the Play store, we found that the fraudsters uploaded similar apps to the app store.
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The 2018 mobile threat landscape had banking trojans that diversified their tactics and techniques to evade detection and further monetize their malware — and in the case of the Anubis Android malware, retooled for other malicious activities. Anubis underwent several changes since it first emerged, from being used for cyberespionage to being retooled as a banking malware, combining information theft and ransomware-like routines. In mid-January of 2019, we saw Anubis use a plethora of techniques, including the use of motion-based sensors to elude sandbox analysis and overlays to steal personally identifiable information.
The latest samples of Anubis (detected by Trend Micro as AndroidOS_AnubisDropper) we recently came across are no different. While tracking Anubis’ activities, we saw two related servers containing 17,490 samples.
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We uncovered a cyberespionage campaign targeting Middle Eastern countries. We named this campaign “Bouncing Golf” based on the malware’s code in the package named “golf.” The malware involved, which Trend Micro detects as AndroidOS_GolfSpy.HRX, is notable for its wide range of cyberespionage capabilities. Malicious codes are embedded in apps that the operators repackaged from legitimate applications. Monitoring the command and control (C&C) servers used by Bouncing Golf, we’ve so far observed more than 660 Android devices infected with GolfSpy. Much of the information being stolen appear to be military-related.
The campaign’s attack vector is also interesting. These repackaged, malware-laden apps are neither on Google Play nor popular third-party app marketplaces, and we only saw the website hosting the malicious apps being promoted on social media when we followed GolfSpy’s trail. We were also able to analyze some GolfSpy samples sourced from the Trend Micro mobile app reputation service.
Read More We discovered several beauty camera apps (detected as AndroidOS_BadCamera.HRX) on Google Play that are capable of accessing remote ad configuration servers that can be used for malicious purposes. Some of these have already been downloaded millions of times, which is unsurprising given the popularity of these kinds of apps.
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