A new financial malware that affects banking and cryptocurrency applications is spreading quickly, and financial authorities in Germany are raising the alarm.
On January 9, Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) issued a formal statement alerting customers to a malware called Godfather that gathers user data from banking and cryptocurrency apps.
Bafin stated:
“It is unclear exactly how the software gets onto the infected end devices of consumers. Godfather is known to display fake websites of regular banking and crypto apps. If consumers log in via these websites , their login data is transmitted to the cyber criminals.”
BaFin noted that roughly 400 banking and cryptocurrency apps, including those running in Germany, are being targeted by the new virus. By showing false websites for popular banking and cryptocurrency apps, the Godfather malware targets victims and steals their login information.
The regulator claims that the malware’s method of attacking users’ devices has not yet been identified. In order to obtain the two-factor authentication codes, the malware is known to send push notifications.
Bafin added:
“The malware also sends push notifications to get the codes for two-factor authentication. With this data, the cyber criminals may be able to gain access to consumers’ accounts and wallets.”
Godfather’s first alerts were released in December, and at the time, it was believed to be affecting Android smartphones and aiming its attacks at people in 16 different nations.
The majority of the banking apps targeted by Godfather, or close to 50% of them, are from the United States, according to Group-IB cybersecurity experts. Along with Turkey, Spain, and Canada, Germany is one of the nations most negatively impacted.
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