Most of the Australian mobile users who use profusely use internet have reportedly fallen prey to a malware dubbed as Flubot having potential to steal financial info and password logins from the victims’ phones.
And information is out that the cyber criminals behind the spread of the Flubot malware are asking victims to download a security update to recover their device from the effects of the attack, a purported move to deepen the crisis.
Security analysts say that such ploys are often thrown at internet users on experiment basis for new scams and to increase the infection rate for the cyber attack spread.
To those uninitiated, since August this year, many smart phone users using different phone networks were being targeted by some missed call alerts and SMSes which when opened or click lead the victim to malicious links that then download the malware.
What’s concerning about this malevolent software is that it can send similar malicious messages to Android phone users saved in the contact lists of the victim without their knowledge- tripling the infection spread within no time.
Flubot that first started in Italy and then spread its wings to Europe and then Australia not only can steal data and propagate to other phone devices, but can also duck various known anti malware-solutions to keep its activities go undetected.
Researchers from Telecom service provider Telstra Exchange claim that the activity was detected in August mid week this year and also issued alert to its entire customer base on a digital note. The security analysts also confirmed that the said malware does not infect iPhones and iPads for now and the only way to save an infected device is to reset it to factory settings that again come with a downside of losing important data like contact lists, photos, videos and other files.
Telstra has also started an analysis of its connected customer devices and has announced that it will warn them if/when needed. Also, if users observe a voicemail bearing icon in blue in a yellow envelope on their home screen, then they should confirm to themselves that their device is infected and contact the support of Telstra.
