According to the cloud security company Zscaler, over 90 malicious Android applications were discovered to be present in the Google Play store.

Zscaler revealed that these malicious Android apps were downloaded by unsuspecting users over 5.5 million times. One of the most dangerous threats among these apps was the notorious Anatsa banking Trojan, also known as TeaBot, as noted by Zscaler.

The company noted that the malicious Android apps initially appeared harmless to users. For example, apps like “PDF Reader & File Manager” and “QR Reader & File Manager” did not immediately infect users’ phones upon download.

These apps develop a false sense of security; later, downloads contain malicious code.

The Anatsa banking Trojan is dangerous because it targets banking apps. Once it infects a device, it communicates with a command-and-control server. If the Trojan detects any installed banking apps, it sends that information to the server, which then responds with a fake login page for those apps. If users unknowingly enter their login credentials on the fake page, the hackers gain access to their accounts and can steal funds from them.

Anatsa primarily targets UK financial institutions, victims have also been reported in the US, Germany, Spain, Finland, South Korea, and Singapore.

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