Google Play’s Leading Financial App Downloads Were Targeted By Trojan Horse Malware, Confirms New Report

A new research study by Zimperium has gone on to talk about some alarming statistics in regards to popular finance-based app downloads. The report claims that more than one billion of these app downloads had been targeted by the dangerous trojan horse virus.

This includes investment, crypto, mobile banking, and payment which fell victim to the malware. These apps are among the popular lot and are reported to be downloaded on a frequent basis.

The study’s research team was also able to delineate the trojan malware variant that cause the most damage and it was believed to be Teabot. This malware targeted the greatest amount of financial apps, 410 to be more specific.

Next in line came the ExobotCompact which targeted 324 apps. And when it came down to which banking app had become the target for this malware, it was the BBVA Banking App from Spain that fell victim the most.

On average, this received more than 10 million downloads and had been targeted by 6 of the 10 leading trojan malware that had been highlighted for affecting banking apps.

It’s quite clear from the report that most of the malware was keenly interested in investments, gold, cryptocurrency, and mobile payments too. These apps are so prevalent in today’s time that their download figures reach the 200 million mark.

This report was a huge wake-up call for the banking and finance sector whose services are being effected greatly by such meticulously planned and sophisticated attempts through this malware.

Therefore, they are putting so many people, institutions, and their assets at risk. But how exactly are they able to do just that?

Thanks to the report, we’re receiving insight on how the malware can hack into some important credentials that are used to carry out their illegal activities. Meanwhile, others carry such high precision that they can steal money from victims on a direct basis.

Remember, in today’s modern world, more and more people are resorting to online banking services as they feel it adds a greater source of convenience. But what they don’t realize is how this gives rise to a huge attack surface that these trojans and other criminals can target and benefit from.

The report also highlights those nations that were more severely affected than others but we must inform you that there was no region spared. And that’s the scary part of it all.

The US was the most badly affected with 121 applications falling prey. Next, in line was the United Kingdom with 55 financial apps, followed by Italy with around 43 apps being vulnerable.

On average, the expert teams at Zimperium conduct studies of a few thousand apps on a daily basis. Thanks to their modern technology and state-of-the-art meticulous learning models, we’re able to gain so much insight into what trojan malware is capable of and how it can attack the Google Play Store.


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