The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Friday raised alarm over the existence of new malware called Flubot which has the capacity to impersonate mobile banking apps in Android devices.
NCC spokesman Ikechukwu Adinde in a statement on Friday said it got word on Thursday from the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT) that Flubot “targets Androids with fake security updates and app installations.”
“The ngCERT affirmed that Flubot impersonates Android mobile banking applications to draw fake web view on targeted applications and its goal transcends stealing personal data and essentially targets stealing of credit card details or online banking credentials.
“Flubot is circulated through Short Message Service (SMS) and can snoop on incoming notifications, initiate calls, read or write SMSes, and transmit the victim’s contact list to its control centre.
“This malware attacks Android devices by pretending to be FedEx, DHL, Correos, and Chrome applications and compels unsuspecting users to alter the accessibility configurations on their devices in order to maintain continuous presence on devices,” the statement read.
The NCC noted that the new malware undermines the security of devices by copying fake login screens of prominent banks; the moment users enter their login details on the fake pages, their data would be harvested and transmitted to the malware operators’ control point for manipulation.
The NCC advised Android phone users to adhere to the following instructions: “Do not click on the link if you receive a suspicious text message, and do not install any app or security update the page asks you to install. Use updated antivirus software that detects and prevents malware infections.
“Apply critical patches to the system and application. Use strong passwords and enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) over logins.
“Back-up your data regularly. If you have been affected by this campaign, you should reset your device to factory mode as soon as possible. This will delete any data on your phone, including personal data.
“Do not restore from backups created after installing the app. You may contact ngCERT on incident@cert.gov.ng for technical assistance. You will also need to change the passwords to all of your online accounts, with urgency, around your online bank accounts.”
