PlayPraetor Android Trojan Infects 11000+ Devices via Fake Google Play Pages and Meta Ads
PlayPraetor is a new Android remote access trojan (RAT) that has infected over 11,000 devices, mostly in Portugal, Spain, France, Morocco, Peru, and Hong Kong, according to cybersecurity researchers.
According to a study of the malware by Cleafy researchers Simone Mattia, Alessandro Strino, and Federico Valentini, the aggressive campaigns targeting Spanish and French speakers are responsible for the botnet's explosive growth, which now surpasses 2,000 new infections every week. This suggests a strategic departure from the malware's prior common victim base.
PlayPraetor, which is controlled by a Chinese command-and-control (C2) panel, differs greatly from other Android trojans in that it can serve phony overlay login screens on top of almost 200 banking apps and cryptocurrency wallet...