A New Android Malware GhostTeam found in Google PlayStore that is capable of stealing Facebook credentials and also it used some social engineering technique to trick victims to download the malicious applications.
Around 53 Malicious apps are discovered and most of the apps are Displaying malicious ads that contain a link to download aditional malicious apps and tricks victims to give up their Facebook credentials.
The Downloader which has uploaded to Google play store doesn’t contain any malicious functions that help to evade the Google security checks and once the apps will be downloaded by a user then it shows aggressive ads that trick users to download further malicious apps.
GhostTeam Android Malware mainly affected countries are India, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam, and the Philippines where the most Facebook users are highly affected by this Malware.
These malicious apps are mimics as a flashlight, QR code scanner, compass utility and social media video downloaders as social engineering tricks are mainly abused apps are GhostTeam Android Malware.
The original entertainment and lifestyle apps we discovered target both Vietnamese and English speaking Android users.
Also Read: New Microsoft Office Vulnerabilities Used to Distribute Zyklon Malware that Creating Backdoor
How Does GhostTeam Android Malware Works
Malicious Google Play Store apps contain codes that will be executed by shows ads to users and trick them to click on it and install the payload.
This malware used to retrieve the malware once it confirmed that the infecting device shouldn’t be running in a virtual environment or an emulator.
According to Trend Micro Report, The payload disguises itself as “Google Play Services”, pretending to verify an app. If the unwitting user opens Google Play or Facebook, it displays an alert urging the would-be victim to install the fake Google Play Services.
Later the Payload will promote users to enable the device administrator permission.
Once users open the Facebook app, a dialog that climes there are issues with the user’s Facebook account that will promote to verify his facebook account which is actually a login attempt.
Behind the scene, Malware executes a webview that loads malicious JavaScript code that harvests the user’s Facebook login credentials.
Once Facebook user enter their Credentials, the app steals them and send it to remote server that is controlled by the attackers
GhostTeam posing as a video downloader
“Besides stealing Facebook credentials, GhostTeam aggressively pops up ads. It keeps the device awake by showing ads in the background. It will display full-screen ads on the home screen if the user is interacting with the device.”
These compromised Facebook aslo used for some dangerous cyber attacks such as distributing malware, mass a zombie social media army that can proliferate fake news or a cryptocurrency-mining malware