What is Exobot?

We’re here to talk about a sophisticated malware that can seriously infect your phone. It has its eyes set on your financial information and can harm you in the worst ways imaginable. Exobot is the malware that can rob you of your online privacy and cybersecurity. Add to that, make a run for it with your money. Learn more about it in this article.

What is Exobot?

What is Exobot?

While Exobot is not a character from a movie or some cool feature you want to own. but it is most certainly real. If anything, the thought of it is freakishly scary. Exobot is a botnet, a malware to be specific that allows a third party to access an infected device. In a nutshell, Exbot is a trojan that hides inside a malicious app. It hides in fake banking apps to lure you in the trap. Again we repeat, this malware is very sophisticated and can be modified into new threats.

How Did Exobot Rise

Exobot started making waves closing the year of 2016. The malware’s owner sold it to someone who ended leaking the source code on a public scale. We still don’t know why he did what he did. The malware code rose to popularity in hacker forums almost a year ago. Now in 2019, researchers have carried out studies on Exbot and have released huge analysis about it.

What Does Exobot Do?

Suppose you download an Android banking app, which appears to be real. To make matters worse, you get the app outside the Google Play Store. There’s no way you could possibly tell that this trojan-laced app has plans to steal your private information. Now, your Android device is infected. This is where Exobot will commence with an overlay attack. The malware carries it out by adding an invisible layer over the top of an app’s user interface. So when you enter your banking login and password, the window you can’t see is what is gathering that information from you. It then delivers it to the hackers., so they become owners of your banking credentials and could harm your accounts.

Past Trojans

BankBot is one of the Android banking trojans that have happened over the past few years. In late 2016, its source code leaked online, which was a big problem the following year. the reason why Exobot is so scary is that it lowers the barrier for non-technical criminals to take part in the banking trojan business.

Exobot on a Global Scale

Exobot’s authors designed it in a way it can adapt itself to habits and trends in various countries. Essentially, the malware targets PayPal, the most popular online payment system around the world. Also, it adapts to dozens of regional banking apps and financial services. Authors have also equipped the malware with the ability to disable major mobile antivirus solutions like BitDefender and Avira.

Security threat analyst at WatchGuard says, Emil Hozan says: “In general, the more prominent global apps like PayPal and BitDefender would be a greater threat, followed by region-specific services. Each region has their own ‘U.S. Bank’ or relatable financial service, and the same goes for antivirus products. In other words, the greatest threat would be the service with the most subscribers.”

Commentary on Exobot

Hozan added “What makes Exobot’s source code significant, even to this day, is that it provides an established fundamental structure for newer malware to build off of. Instead of starting from scratch, malware authors can use this code to build upon. We’ve seen this happen countless times with other malware source code leaks like Zeus and, more recently, Mirai. In general, the more prominent global apps like PayPal and BitDefender would be a greater threat, followed by region-specific services. Each region has its own ‘U.S. Bank’ or relatable financial service, and the same goes for antivirus products. In other words, the greatest threat would be the service with the most subscribers.”

Why is Exobot Threatening?

Exobot can automatically target about 150 sites such as Amazon, Facebook, PayPal, and Western Union. If that’s not scary what is? Again, this malware is sophisticated. This malware can trick you as well as avoid detection from typical network analysis tools. Moreover, Exobot can disable some antivirus programs like Avast and BitDefender. Furthermore, it’s also capable of infecting devices with the latest versions of Android.

Avoid Exobot

Note that, malware doesn’t normally show up on your devices. As a matter of fact, it has its ways, which are often done by posing as a legitimate app. With that information, you learn that you should never get apps from unreliable sources. Nevertheless, this is not to say that all apps from Google or Appstore are perfect or safe. Keep in mind that Apple is strict when it comes to vetting content it offers. If you’re certain that you have downloaded an official app, don’t let out a sigh of relief just yet.

Instead, you should watch for the kinds of permissions it wants you to approve. A lot of apps have absolutely no business accessing parts of your device which could be compromised. Also, you should watch out for phishing attacks that come via email and texts. Scammers are becoming much more detail-oriented in their latest attempts and can make fake emails look real. We advise you not to click on any links or attachments as that could also put you on the fast track to an infected device.

Preventing Exobot

There aren’t any official app stores that offer absolute protection so far. No matter what, malicious apps often get by their defenses. Security experts recommend enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) on sensitive applications. The MFA requires users to complete an extra step when logging in to their accounts like running a fingerprint scan, entering a one-time password, or connecting a physical key. MFA makes it very hard for hackers to break into online accounts.

What is Exobot? – Final Thoughts

You don’t have to be a savvy cybercriminal with programming skills with Exobot. The reason is that the code is already written. This is what makes Exobot dangerous. Crooks who wouldn’t normally get involved in such sophisticated methods to steal from you can easily take part in it. Exobot made it an easier task for them.