Malware and trojan viruses are two of the scariest things for a crypto hodler, especially for crypto hodlers that use smartphones. A new breed of crypto-malware called Anubis has been detected and it’s targeting banking and blockchain-related apps. It has an impressive array of features at its disposal that will quickly capture your login information, private keys, and empty all of your accounts. This is a nasty piece of malware that can quickly destroy any headway you’ve made in the crypto world, specifically targeting users with Bitfinex, Binance, and Coinbase apps on their Android devices.
Virtually Impossible to Detect
The thing that makes Anubis so frightening is that unless you have specialist anti-virus software on your Android device, you can’t detect it. Just one of the styles of attacks that Anubis can carry out is a “man in the middle” attack. This is when it replaces the crypto exchange app on your phone with its own version – one that links you to the hacker’s very own spoof site. As a user, you won’t notice the difference at all, happily logging in and giving away all of your precious data to the hacker. Anubis is so advanced that a “man in the middle” attack can render 2FA completely useless – even if you’re using Authy or Google Authenticator.
Taking Advantage of the Google Play Store
It’s common knowledge that certain apps on the Google Play Store aren’t what they seem to be, and the hackers behind Anubis have decided to upload fake crypto exchange apps in a bid to infect users. Anubis was found to be targeting 378 different app users, creating its own spoof version of each app.
On the blockchain side of things, Anubis created 38 fake apps, including some of the most popular names in the crypto trading world. You can see the full list of spoofed apps below. It’s worth checking the package name – the address in brackets – as these point to the spoofed apps rather than the legitimate app. If you think you’ve downloaded one of these apps, it’s worth creating a new wallet on a different device and moving your crypto to it for the meantime – just to be on the safe side.
Crypto Malware on the Rise
Unfortunately, scammers and hackers are getting bumper paydays from targeting the crypto world. This has led to a huge increase in the amount of malware focused towards crypto users, and an increase in reported thefts. Back in March, Wasabi Wallet issued a warning over a spoof website that in fact installed a virus into your laptop. The URL looked nearly identical, and so too did the website. This type of spoofing malware is very common and very dangerous as it’s hard to detect.
Anubis is one of the most dangerous malware strains around at the moment, so if you’re a crypto hodler and you use an Android device, it’s well worth installing some anti-virus software. This will help you remain safe from any new spoof apps the malware creates on the Good Play Store.
