SpyNote Android malware infections surge after source code leak

guest · Jan 5, 2023

By Bill Toulas @billtoulas - January 5, 2023

The Android malware family tracked as SpyNote (or SpyMax) has had a sudden increase in detections in the final quarter of 2022, which is attributed to a source code leak of one of its latest, known as 'CypherRat.'
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'CypherRat' combined SpyNote's spying capabilities, such as offering remote access, GPS tracking, and device status and activity updates, with banking trojan features that impersonate banking institutions to steal account credentials.

CypherRat was sold via private Telegram channels from August 2021 until October 2022, when its author decided to publish its source code on GitHub, following a string of scamming incidents on hacking forums that impersonated the project.
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Threat actors quickly snatched the malware's source code and launched their own campaigns. Almost immediately, custom variants appeared that targeted reputable banks like HSBC and Deutsche Bank.

This activity was observed by ThreatFabric analysts, who warn about the possibility of CypherRat becoming an even more widespread threat.
While ThreatFabric has not shared how these malicious apps are being distributed, they are likely spread through phishing sites, third-party Android app sites, and social media.
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ThreatFabric: SpyNote: Spyware with RAT capabilities targeting Financial Institutions

January 5, 2023
Android Spyware is one of the most common kinds of malware used by attackers to gain access to personal data and carry out fraud operations.

In the last quarter of 2022, ThreatFabric researchers observed a large increase in volume for samples belonging to the SpyNote Malware family. This family, which is also known as SpyMax, is an unique and effective Spyware designed to secretly observe user activity on an Android device. The SpyNote malware can monitor, manage, and modify the device’s resources and features along with Remote access capabilities.
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