SMS is used for login codes and alerts, but text messages can be intercepted, spoofed, or redirected through phone-account attacks.
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Background for this topic.
SMS (Short Message Service) is a standardized mobile-network service for sending short text messages between phone numbers. It is widely used for person-to-person communication, service notifications, and one-time authentication codes, but messages are generally not end-to-end encrypted and may be visible to mobile operators or infrastructure handling delivery.
Security concerns include smishing—phishing delivered by text—along with sender-ID spoofing, malicious links, and social engineering. Account recovery and SMS-based multi-factor authentication can also be undermined when an attacker takes control of a phone number through SIM swapping, abuses carrier processes, or exploits signaling-system weaknesses. Organizations should avoid treating SMS as a high-assurance authentication factor where stronger options are practical, restrict sensitive content in texts, monitor number-change and authentication events, and train users to verify unexpected messages through a trusted channel.
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A specific multi-touch gesture bypasses an authentication prompt, allowing anyone to send messages
Rokarolla Android malware targets 217 banking and crypto apps, steals credentials, blocks bank calls, intercepts SMS, and disables Play Protect. Zimperium’s zLabs researchers have published a detailed analysis of Rokarolla, a new Android banking trojan named after its command-and-control infrastructure. It spreads through malicious websites masquerading as TikTok and Chrome, one confirmed distribution point being […]
Security researchers at Zimperium's zLabs have documented a new Android banking trojan, Rokarolla, that targets 217 banking and cryptocurrency apps and packs 137 remote commands
Employee onboarding is a busy time for IT teams. New starters need devices, accounts, access permissions, and passwords, all delivered within a tight timeframe
A single poisoned notification from WhatsApp, Slack, SMS, Signal, Instagram, or Messenger could have hijacked Google Gemini's voice assistant on Android and made it open a victim's connected windows, fake a message from their boss, push the phone into a Zoom call, or quietly poison its long-term memory
Apple on Monday officially released iOS 26.5 with support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to Rich Communication Services (RCS) in beta as part of a "cross-industry effort" to replace traditional SMS with a more secure alternative
Cisco Talos uncovers CloudZ RAT and Pheno plugin abusing Microsoft Phone Link to intercept SMS OTPs
A new version of the CloudZ remote access tool (RAT) is deploying a previously unseen malicious plugin called Pheno that hijacks the Microsoft Phone Link connection to steal sensitive codes from mobile devices. [...]
The internet is noisy this week. We are seeing some wild new tactics, like people using fake cell towers to send scam texts, while some developers are accidentally downloading tools that peek into their private files during a simple install. It is definitely a busy time to be online
Canadian authorities have arrested three men for operating an "SMS blaster" device that pretends to be a cellular tower to send phishing texts to nearby phones. [...]
Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a telecommunications fraud campaign that uses fake CAPTCHA verification tricks to dupe unsuspecting users into sending international text messages that incur charges on their mobile bills, generating illicit revenue for the threat actors who lease the phone numbers
Report Reveals Growing Trend of Fraudsters Intercepting SMS-Based VerificationFinancial institutions have historically relied on one-time passcodes as a primary authentication control for their accountholders. But OTP verification is less reliable as fraudsters increasingly exploit SMS-based verification weaknesses to carry out account takeover and payment fraud schemes.
Steals SMS messages, location data, contacts … and delivers it to Hamas-linked crew Hamas-linked attackers are dropping spyware disguised as an emergency-alert app on Israelis' smartphones via SMS messages, according to security researchers.…
Espionage campaign exploits Israel-Iran conflict, distributing a trojanized Red Alert app via SMS
The acquisition allows the credit reporting agency to add SMS spam and scam prevention to its robocall blocking capabilities.
Telegram users in Uzbekistan are being targeted with Android SMS stealer malware, and what's worse, the attackers are improving their methods.
Threat actors have been observed leveraging malicious dropper apps masquerading as legitimate applications to deliver an Android SMS stealer dubbed Wonderland in mobile attacks targeting users in Uzbekistan
China-based phishing groups blamed for non-stop scam SMS messages about a supposed wayward package or unpaid toll fee are promoting a new offering, just in time for the holiday shopping season: Phishing kits for mass-creating fake but convincing e-commerce websites that convert customer payment card data into mobile wallets from Apple and Google. Experts say these same phishing groups also are now using SMS lures that promise unclaimed tax refunds and mobile rewards points.
Google is suing more than two dozen unnamed individuals allegedly involved in peddling a popular China-based mobile phishing service that helps scammers impersonate hundreds of trusted brands, blast out text message lures, and convert phished payment card data into mobile wallets from Apple and Google.
Google has filed a lawsuit to dismantle the "Lighthouse" phishing-as-a-service platform used by cybercriminals worldwide to steal credit card information through SMS phishing attacks impersonating the U.S. Postal Service and E-ZPass toll systems. [...]