SpyNote Android Malware Can Now Steal Your Financial Assets: Here's How to Protect Yours

SpyNote, a dangerous malware that belongs to the Android family, is reportedly threatening some victims in a new series of attacks.

In the last quarter of 2022, security experts saw a skyrocketing trend in the detection rates for this spyware.

Paired with "CypherRat," a source code leak, the SpyNote spyware can easily steal money from unsuspecting people and track them via GPS.

SpyNote Hackers Steal CypherRat Source Code

In a previous report by Bleeping Computer, the leaked source code was originally available on several Telegram channels that were privately accessed by select users a few years ago.

Unfortunately, the author of the code has put up the source code on GitHub. The decision came after the person learned that some groups were copying his project.

Before anyone accessed the code, the hackers quickly stole the source code of the spyware and later added them to their operations.

Aside from targeting Android apps on Google Play Store, some of its variations appear to have been going after the banks and other financial institutions.

How Dangerous is SpyNote Malware

The notorious hackers who use this malware can easily control your Android smartphone with just a few clicks and programming.

According to a report by FoxNews, SpyNote (also known as SpyMax) can track the GPS location of the victim and collect some information from their device, including their photos, files, and even audio recordings.

The worst part about this dangerous spyware is that it can steal the victim's passwords and even the PINs on a credit card.

The campaign deceives the victims into thinking that the app is a legitimate banking app. After the hackers successfully fool a person into this trap, they will request permission from a user to enter the 2FA code from the device.

From here, they can start transferring the confidential details of the victims from the bank account to the system. Oftentimes, disguised apps appear to have wrong spelling on the title or a suspicious description in the background.

How to Protect Your Device From SpyNote Malware

If you think an Android app looks too sketchy, follow your gut instinct and don't click anything you see inside.

Security experts say you should always check the app's ratings before downloading it on your device. If there is too much negative feedback, refrain from installing it on your smartphone.

It's also important to always turn on the "permissions" on the app, so you will know what apps you allow to operate on your device.

If you want to get rid of this annoying spyware, we recommend you get powerful anti-virus software that will block permissions for SpyNote.