Modified WhatsApp App Caught Infecting Android Devices with Malware
Oct 13, 2022
An unofficial version of the popular WhatsApp messaging app called YoWhatsApp has been observed deploying an Android trojan known as Triada. The goal of the malware is to steal the keys that "allow the use of a WhatsApp account without the app ," Kaspersky said in a new report. "If the keys are stolen, a user of a malicious WhatsApp mod can lose control over their account." YoWhatsApp offers the ability for users to lock chats, send messages to unsaved numbers, and customize the app with a variety of theming options. It's also said to share overlaps with other modded WhatsApp clients such as FMWhatsApp and HeyMods. The Russian cybersecurity company said it found the malicious functionality in YoWhatsApp version 2.22.11.75. Typically spread through fraudulent ads on Snaptube and Vidmate, the app, upon installation, requests the victims to grant it permissions to access SMS messages, enabling the malware to enroll them to paid subscriptions without their...
