It’s one thing that the virus can see everything, but attackers can also take control of the device.
Security researchers at ThreatFabric have discovered a new Android banking trojan called Brokewell that can record almost every activity on the device, including keystrokes and information displayed on the screen, reports Bleeping Computer.
The malware is installed on the phone through a fake Google Chrome update that appears while using the web browser. After downloading the payload containing the virus, the program mostly copies the interface of banking applications, and it is also under active development, which means that it has extensive device takeover and remote control capabilities.
In this way, the virus is able to collect internet cookies, as well as see our notifications, conversations, finger movements and call logs.
If that wasn’t enough, it can measure the device’s physical location, hardware and software parameters, and activate the mobile’s microphone to record audio. The really scary part is that fraudsters can actually take control of the mobile: they can see the device’s screen in real time, perform remote clicking and scrolling, control the keyboard, and even control the brightness and volume.
ThreatFabric reports that the developer behind Brokewell has identified himself To Baron Samedit named individual who, as it turned out, is responsible for the development of a tool called Brokewell Android Loader. The virus is able to bypass the restrictions introduced by Google in Android 13 and above, which prevent the misuse of unofficially downloaded APKs.
Experts who discovered the malware stressed that such apps are unfortunately in high demand on the black market, as they allow fraudsters to carry out fraud from the victim’s device, thus avoiding detection. Experts fear further development of the program, so they ask everyone to download files and applications only through official channels.
