- Group-IB links poisoned mobile banking apps to GoldFactory
- Attackers decompile legitimate applications, add Trojans/backdoors, and spread them via phishing lures and fake sites.
- Advanced malware families allow complete control of devices, exposing tens of thousands of people to banking fraud
Hackers are tricking people into downloading poisoned mobile banking apps, stealing their login credentials, monitoring their activity and, in many cases, enabling financial fraud.
This is according to cybersecurity researchers Group-IB who, in a recent report, said the group is most likely GoldFactory, known for stealing facial recognition data and targeting businesses and consumers in the Asia-Pacific region.
The first stage of the process is to decompile a legitimate banking application. This allows attackers to add their own code, usually a remote access Trojan or a form of backdoor. They then recompile the app and create a landing page that is, in many ways, identical to the real thing.
Sophisticated bank fraud
From there, they engage in “targeted social engineering campaigns,” posing as local governments or different service providers, the researchers said. In other words, attackers create convincing phishing lures, tricking people into visiting fake government and service provider websites, and downloading these poisoned applications.
The worst thing is that the application, on the surface, behaves as it is supposed to, convincing the victims and making them oblivious to what is happening in the background.
“GoldFactory uses a set of advanced linking malware families, including SkyHook, FriHook, PineHook and Gigabud variants, to bypass application integrity checks, hide malicious activity and take full control of infected devices. These tools allow attackers to capture sensitive data, automate on-screen actions and even remotely view and operate the victim’s phone,” Group-IB explained.
While the focus so far is on Asia-Pacific, the approach allowed for rapid deployment to all countries, it was said. Therefore, tens of thousands of users and dozens of financial institutions are exposed to “high-impact banking fraud.”
Craig Jones, former head of cybercrime at Interpol, recently spoke about GoldFactory on an episode of Masked Actors, saying its modus operandi “is sophisticated bank fraud.”
TechRadar Pro first reported on GoldFactory in mid-February 2024, when Gold-IB discovered GoldPickaxe, a Trojan that steals biometric data and uses it to generate convincing deepfakes that can then be used to break into mobile banking applications.
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