Dangerous malware with the look of Netflix spreads via WhatsApp.
Security researchers are sounding the alarm.
This is how users can tell whether they are affected.
San Carlos - Netflix for free?
Sounds good.
Too good.
If a friend on WhatsApp praises an app that enables free streaming access, the alarm bells should ring.
If you click on the link sent, instead of series enjoyment, there is insidious malware.
The scam is not new, you know it from Facebook *: Via the link in the message - it comes from a hijacked account - malware is spread.
It is called “FlixOnline”.
Your icon looks confusingly similar to the Netflix original.
But be careful: it doesn't stream, it spies out passwords.
Even the otherwise secure Google Play Store did not recognize the app, which spreads quickly via WhatsApp, as a malware for a long time.
WhatsApp malware in the Netflix look "is an alarm signal"
Security researchers from Check Point Research (CPR) uncovered the digital malware on Wednesday.
The “FlixOnline” Android app requires supposedly harmless rights during installation, the experts explain.
She wants to be able to display herself via other apps, ignore the battery optimizations and gain access to notifications.
This is also known from normal apps.
Once authorizations for "FlixOnline" have been granted, the app can go unnoticed over any log-in masks and thus record a wide variety of Android users' access data.
In the meantime, Google has been informed about the malware by CRP.
The supposed Netflix offshoot "FlixOnline" was then removed from the Google Play Store.
In the two months in which the malware was offered for download in the Play Store, only 500 users fell for the scam.
But the problem lies deeper: According to the CRP, the danger is far from over.
"The fact that the malware could be camouflaged so easily and ultimately overcome the protection of the Google Play Store is an alarm signal," said Aviran Hazum of CRP on the IT blog BleepingComputer.
Netflix malware via WhatsApp messages: Experts expect a new wave of spam
The security researchers warn that the new principle of using WhatsApp messages to spread malware is likely to be used more often in the future.
WhatsApp users should therefore be prepared for a new wave of spam in Messenger.
Therefore, if a WhatsApp message contains a strange link, to be on the safe side, ask the sender again whether they actually sent the link themselves.
This also applies to dubious Facebook messages, because an older data leak is now again dangerous for users.
In Germany alone, six million accounts are affected.
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