Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Malware Targets Banks, Crypto Platforms and Social MediaNewly surfaced Android-based banking Trojan gives threat actors near-total control over infected devices, letting them steal user credentials for direct access to financial accounts, says researchers. Rokarolla tricks users into side-loading malicious versions of popular, high traffic apps.

JSON Code 'Beautifiers' Expose Sensitive Data From Banks, Government AgenciesAt what price beauty? Apparently, some developers will paste anything into "JSON beautify" sites, from researchers report recovering authentication keys, database credentials, personally identifiable information for banking customers and much more.

Runners Hired to Connect Device to Bank's Network, Facilitating Remote HacksResearchers tied a cybercrime group tracked as UNC2891 to an attempted Asia-Pacific bank heist, in which remote attackers physically installed a 4G-enabled Raspberry Pi onto an ATM network switch, giving them remote access to the internal IT environment as part of an attempted cashout attack.

New Variant Uses Virtualization to Weaponize Legit Apps, Stealing Data in Real TimeA banking Trojan known for mimicking mobile app login pages has gone to the next level by copying and pasting real mobile banking apps into a virtual environment it creates on infected smartphones, warn researchers. New Godfather malware "marks a significant leap in mobile threat capabilities."

Academics Build AI Agent With OpenAI to Execute Phone Scams at ScaleHackers can use OpenAI's real-time voice API to carry out for less than a dollar deepfake scams involving voice impersonations of government officials or bank employees to swindle victims, said researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

New Variants Steal PINs, Affect 13,000+ Users and Exploit Accessibility FeaturesA new variant of an Android banking Trojan called TrickMo is tricking victims into providing their phone unlock code, enabling hackers to sustain operations, warn cybersecurity researchers. The malware displays presents a deceptive HTML user interface that mimics the device's actual unlock screen.

Also: UwU Lend's Hacks, Terraform Labs' Dissolution, Gemini's SettlementThis week, CertiK researchers allegedly stole money from Kraken, UwU Lend was hacked, Terraform Labs shut down, Gemini will pay defrauded investors, three entities claimed seized FTX assets, a Chinese bank suffered embezzlement and money laundering, and the SEC's crypto head is leaving.

New Campaign Targets Over 1,500 Banks WorldwideDespite a law enforcement takedown in January, researchers identified new phishing campaigns spreading the Grandoreiro banking Trojan, indicating its return as a malware-as-a-service tool with better encryption and a better domain name generator, according to IBM X-Force researchers.

Also: Polish Prime Minister Says Previous Administration Deployed Pegasus SpywareThis week, the Zeus leader pleaded guilty, Prudential detected hackers, U.S. telecoms have to report breaches, Microsoft patched zero-days, researchers said Chinese threat intel is faulty, ransomware hit Romanian healthcare entities, Juniper was breached and Poland allegedly previously used Pegasus.

GoldPickaxe Malware Can Record User’s Face - Use Video to Commit Deepfake ScamsA Chinese-speaking cybercrime group with the codename GoldFactory has built a new Android and iOS banking Trojan, GoldPickaxe, that can harvest and steal personal details, including biometric face profiles, that attackers use to create AI-driven deepfakes to fool bank defenses, researchers warn.

Both iOS and Android Variants Can Record Face Videos, Used to Create AI DeepfakesA Chinese-speaking cybercrime group codenamed GoldFactory has built a new Android and iOS banking Trojan, GoldPickaxe, that can to harvest and steal personal details, including biometric face profiles, which attackers use to create AI-driven deepfakes to fool bank defenses, researchers warn.