ViperRAT spyware resurfaces in Google Play Store

One year after a hacking campaign targeted Israeli Defense Force soldiers, the ViperRAT malware family returned to the Google Play Store, according to new research from the mobile security firm Lookout. ViperRAT made waves last year after a wave of IDF personnel fell victim to social engineering attacks from hackers posing as young women, who tricked the soldiers into installing third-party apps that copied files and spied on communications. The malware relatively disappeared after intense media coverage, but the new samples look even more sophisticated — so much so that they’ve snuck into the Google Play Store. It’s not clear who is  being targeted or responsible for building the ViperRAT 2.0. The two ViperRAT malicious chat apps (called VokaChat and Chattak) in the Google Play Store were downloaded over 1,000 times before Lookout discovered and Google removed them. “The chat functionality of the apps, which in earlier ViperRAT samples did not function, […]

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Israeli soldiers’ personal Android phones hacked by spies, researchers say

A group of highly talented and well resourced hackers are spying on the Israeli Defense Force by hacking into the personal smartphones of individual soldiers, according to newly released research by Lookout and Kaspersky. More than a 100 Israeli servicemen are believed to have been effectively targeted with the spyware. Dubbed ViperRAT, the clandestine hacking […]

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