A nice catch.
The European police office Europol announced on Wednesday the dismantling of the widespread spyware "FluBot", which attacked Android mobile phones via SMS to steal sensitive information, passwords or bank details.
“FluBot,” which caused major incidents in Spain and Finland, was “one of the most prevalent mobile phone malware to date,” Europol said in a statement.
It “was able to spread like wildfire due to its ability to access the contacts of an infected smartphone.
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Over 6.5 million malicious text messages were prevented
Victims using phones with Google's Android operating system received a text message asking users to click a link and install an app to track the delivery of a package or listen to a fake voicemail message.
Hackers would then use the access to steal bank account or cryptocurrency account details.
"This is advanced malware capable of causing a lot of trouble," said Dutch police, who managed to "disrupt" FluBot's infrastructure in May after an international investigation by eleven countries, including the United States, Australia and several European countries.
"To date, we have disconnected ten thousand victims from the FluBot network and prevented more than 6.5 million malicious text messages," she said in a statement.
Police are still trying to identify those responsible
The police are still trying to identify those responsible for the scam.
In order not to disclose the methods used, Europol did not specify how the software was dismantled but told AFP that the operation did not involve any dismantling of physical infrastructure and was carried out by "a another way”.
"This FluBot infrastructure is now under the control of law enforcement, putting an end to the destructive spiral," said Europol.
Identified at the end of 2020, FluBot had spread rapidly the following year and had compromised a large number of devices around the world, with major incidents in Spain and Finland.
Once installed on a phone, the software allowed access to the contact list and sending fake SMS to other phones.