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Gigabud Creates Android Work Profiles to Hide From Banking App Malware Checks

Group-IB reports the Gigabud Android banking trojan uses a cloned work profile to hide from banking app malware checks, with infections confirmed in Indonesia.

Group-IB says Gigabud installs a helper app called Vwork, derived from the open-source Shelter tool, which creates an Android work profile and drops a tampered banking app inside it, hiding the trojan from banking apps' malware scans. Gigabud, active since 2022 and linked by Group-IB to the GoldFactory group, abuses Accessibility access and overlay screens to steal credentials and run fraudulent payments while a black screen conceals the operator's actions. Group-IB confirmed the full attack chain on infected devices in Indonesia, counting about 1,469 compromised devices and estimated losses of roughly $960,000 between February and July 2026. Vwork-compatible Gigabud samples have been found targeting 11 countries including Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Thailand, and Türkiye, though only the Indonesian chain is confirmed.

The Hacker Newsupdated · 5d agofirst · 6d agoMalware in the wild 5 sources1

GoldFactory Weaponizes Open-Source Vwork App Cloner in Gigabud Banking Malware Attacks

Group-IB says GoldFactory's Gigabud Android trojan uses Vwork, a weaponized Shelter fork, to clone banking apps into isolated Work Profiles and evade bank-side detection.

Group-IB's 'Hook for Gold' investigation found GoldFactory ships Vwork, a modified fork of the open-source Shelter app, alongside its Gigabud Android banking trojan, active since 2022. Vwork abuses Android Work Profile provisioning to clone banking apps into an isolated environment, weakening the link between detected malware signals and fraudulent transactions. Gigabud has targeted victims in Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and beyond via fake airline, tax, and government apps requesting Accessibility and overlay permissions. In Indonesia, telemetry recorded about 1,469 compromised devices and roughly $960,939 in estimated losses between February and July 2026.

GBHackers · 7d agoMalware in the wild

Google’s Early Access is creating a blind spot for malicious apps

Bitdefender found thousands of Google Play Early Access apps with deceptive behavior, including ad-fraud-capable utilities requesting excessive permissions on Android devices.

Bitdefender Labs analyzed Google Play apps installed by its users and identified thousands of Early Access applications that appeared deceptive, including fake casino and reward games, misleading utilities, and apps using third-party trademarks, many promoted via social ads with AI deepfakes. Early Access apps cannot receive public reviews, removing a key warning signal users normally rely on. Some apps requested unusual permissions, such as a QR scanner seeking to replace the device launcher, which could enable hidden web views that click ads and potentially display fake login screens or capture two-factor codes. Bitdefender recommends Android Enterprise Work Profiles and notes Google Workspace admins can disable Early Access apps for their organization.

CSO Onlineupdated · 5d agofirst · 5d agoMalware 6 sources

MantaxOtax Android Malware Combines Ransomware With Spyware

Zimperium analyzed MantaxOtax Android malware combining AES file encryption with extensive spying, linked to Indonesian actors and distributed via sideloading.

Zimperium's zLabs published a technical analysis of MantaxOtax, an Android malware family that combines ransomware-style file encryption with comprehensive spyware, linked to Indonesian threat actors and distributed via sideloaded APKs on a third-party file-sharing service. The malware requests device administrator, SMS, contacts, storage and Accessibility permissions, resolves its C2 domain dynamically from a GitHub repository, and encrypts files with AES using per-device keys derived from the Android ID on Android 9 and earlier. It steals WhatsApp messages, Telegram credentials, OTPs and other data, and uses MediaProjection for screenshots and screen recording staged on Catbox; a second variant adds WebSocket C2 with persistent screen locking and app blocking.

Infosecurity Magazine · 5d agoMalware

New IoT Malware Uses Public Linux Exploits to Gain Root and Launch DDoS Attacks

Nozomi details KATARU, an IoT botnet that brute-forces Telnet, exploits public Linux kernel flaws for root access, and launches multi-protocol DDoS attacks.

KATARU, discovered after honeypot Telnet brute-force activity from a Vietnamese IP, downloads an ARM payload (vlxx.arm) and attempts privilege escalation by editing /etc/passwd or exploiting CVE-2026-46300 (Fragnesia), CVE-2026-43284 (Dirty Frag), and CVE-2026-31431 (Copy Fail). It combines Mirai-style TCP, UDP, ICMP, HTTP, QUIC and DNS floods with application attacks against Minecraft, FiveM, OpenVPN and WireGuard. The malware uses X25519 and ChaCha20-Poly1305 encrypted C2, unusually broad persistence across systemd, cron, init frameworks, and Android hooks, plus anti-debugging and decoy traffic to hinder analysis. Implementers copied x86 shellcode into the ARM binary and reused an RFC 7748 test-vector key, indicating low-quality but rapidly evolving commodity development.

GBHackersupdated · 4d agofirst · 5d agoMalware in the wild 2 sourcesCVE-2026-46300CVE-2026-43284CVE-2026-31431

ThreatsDay: 296K IoT Botnet, 100+ Water Systems Targeted, SharePoint RCE Chain + 27 New Stories

Weekly ThreatsDay bulletin details a ShinyHunters-style social engineering hit on ReliaQuest, the 296,000-device Dysphoria IoT botnet, and several new malware families.

ReliaQuest confirmed a social engineering attack on August 22, 2026, in which an attacker used a fake SSO page and MFA push approval to gain brief view-only access to an identity dashboard, with tactics matching ShinyHunters, which has since listed the firm on its leak portal. The Shadowserver Foundation reported the Dysphoria botnet has compromised nearly 296,000 IoT devices for DDoS attacks and recently added residential proxy capability. Cisco Talos documented JWR, an operator-driven phishing-as-a-service framework linked to The Outsider that harvests credentials, identity documents, and 2FA codes over an encrypted WebSocket. New malware coverage includes the Octagon Android fraud bot ($1,400/month), the C2Looper Rust backdoor delivered via ClickFix, and the Aeternum loader that moved C2 to the Polygon blockchain.

The Hacker News · 14d agoMalware in the wild