How to Detect PixBankBot Trojan in Android Apps
This Knowledge Base article describes how to use Appdome’s AI/ML in your CI/CD pipeline to continuously deliver plugins that Detect PixBankBot Trojan in Android apps.
What is PixBankBot Trojan?
PixBankBot is an Android banking trojan targeting Brazilian users and banking apps. It spreads through malicious apps and phishing links, often disguised as legitimate banking applications. Once installed, PixBankBot uses Android’s Accessibility Services to steal sensitive financial information, such as login credentials, credit card details, and intercepts SMS messages, including two-factor authentication (2FA) codes. It also employs overlay attacks to trick users into entering their information into fake interfaces. Its primary goal is financial theft, allowing attackers to manipulate transactions and steal funds, particularly through Brazil’s Pix payment system. PixBankBot poses a significant threat to user privacy and financial security by conducting fraudulent transactions without users’ awareness.
How does Appdome Detect PixBankBot Trojan in Android Apps?
Taking all the above into consideration, you can use Appdome’s Detect Bank Trojan Apps feature to protect against PixBankBot as well as use a combination of the following Appdome detection and protection methods:
- Prevent Accessibility Services Malware – Prevents malicious actions taken by malware that exploit Android’s AccessibilityService, which when abused can be used to intercept sensitive inputs like passwords and 2FA codes, take screenshots, and simulate user actions such as taps and swipes. This allows attackers to manipulate apps, steal data, impersonate the real user, or perform fraudulent transactions without the user’s knowledge.
- Google Play Store Signature Validation – Protects against fake apps, clones, and masquerading, which malware often do to trick users into performing harmful actions.
- Prevent ATS Malware – Detects active transaction hijacking attempts, blocks the attempt, and notifies the user.
- RASP – Prevents PixBankBot from injecting itself into installed apps and repackaging them. Also includes anti-tampering, anti-debugging, anti-emulator, and other protections against dynamic attacks at runtime.
- Code Obfuscation – Protects against decompiling and malicious reverse engineering.
- Root Detection – Protects mobile apps from running on rooted devices, which bypass Android’s security controls. Rooting exposes apps to tampering, data theft, and malware by giving attackers elevated access to system files and app data.
- MitM Attack Prevention – Prevents PixBankBot from intercepting or hijacking sessions to harvest or steal data.
- Block App Overlay Attacks – Detects and prevents fake/malicious screen overlays from displaying on top of the app screen and concealing the legitimate app screen. Mobile malware and Trojans like PixBankBot use overlay attacks to trick users into revealing sensitive information or performing harmful actions inadvertently.
- Keylogging Prevention – Prevents the use of malicious keyloggers which may be used to intercept two-factor authentication codes or harvest sensitive information.
Prerequisites for Using Appdome's Detect PixBankBot Plugins:
To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Detect PixBankBot Trojan , you’ll need:
Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
A license for Detect PixBankBot
Mobile App (.apk or .aab for Android)
Signing Credentials (see Signing Secure Android apps and Signing Secure iOS apps)
To enable this protection, ensure the android. permission.HIDE_OVERLAY_WINDOWS permission is added to the manifest. If it is missing, Appdome will add it automatically when this protection is applied to the app.
How to Implement Detect PixBankBot Trojan in Android Apps Using Appdome
On Appdome, follow these simple steps to create self-defending Android Apps that Detect PixBankBot Trojan without an SDK or gateway:
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Designate the Mobile App to be protected.
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Upload an app via the Appdome Mobile Defense platform GUI or via Appdome’s DEV-API or CI/CD Plugins.
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Android Formats: .apk or .aab
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Detect PixBankBot is compatible with: Java, JS, C++, C#, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, Cordova and other Android apps.
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Select the defense: Detect PixBankBot.
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Follow the steps in Sections 2.2-2.2.2 of this article to add the Detect PixBankBot feature to your Fusion Set via the Appdome Console.
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When you enable Detect Bank Trojan Apps you'll notice that the Fusion Set you created in step 2.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Detect PixBankBot.
Figure 2: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Detect PixBankBot protection
Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory). -
Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set. Copy the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below):
Figure 3: Fusion Set Detail Summary
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Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Circle CI or other system:
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Refer to the Appdome API Reference Guide for API building instructions.
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Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository.
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Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Detect PixBankBot feature as shown below:Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Detect PixBankBot feature
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Add the Detect PixBankBot feature to your security template.
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Navigate to Build > Anti ATO tab > Android Trojans section in the Appdome Console.
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Toggle On Detect Bank Trojan Apps > Detect PixBankBot.
Note: The checkmark feature Detect PixBankBot is enabled by default, as shown below.Figure 4: Selecting Detect PixBankBot Trojan
Note: The Appdome Platform displays the Mobile Operation Systems supported by each defense in real-time. For more details, see our OS Support Policy KB. -
Configure the User Experience Options for Detect PixBankBot:
With Threat-Events™ OFF, Appdome provides several user experience options for mobile brands and developers.- App Compromise Notification: Customize the pop-up or toast Appdome uses to notify the user when a threat is present while using the protected mobile app.
- Short message Option. This is available for mobile devices that allow a banner notification for security events.
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Localized Message Option. Allows Appdome users to support global languages in security notifications.
Figure 5: Default User Experience Options for Appdome’s PixBankBot Trojan
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Detect PixBankBot Threat Code™. Appdome uses AI/ML to generate a unique code each time Detect PixBankBot is triggered by an active threat on the mobile device. Use the code in Appdome Threat Resolution Center™ to help end users identify, find and resolve active threats on the personal mobile devices.
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Congratulations! The Detect PixBankBot protection is now added to the mobile app -
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Certify the Detect PixBankBot feature in Android Apps
After building Detect PixBankBot, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Detect PixBankBot protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Detect PixBankBot protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below:
Figure 6: Certified Secure™ certificate
Each Certified Secure™ certificate provides DevOps and DevSecOps organizations the entire workflow summary, audit trail of each build, and proof of protection that Detect PixBankBot has been added to each Android app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Detect PixBankBot and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app.
Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Android Apps by using Detect PixBankBot. There is no SDK and no library to code or implement in the app and no gateway to deploy in your network. All protections are built into each app and the resulting app is self-defending and self-protecting.
Releasing and Publishing Mobile Apps with Detect PixBankBot
After successfully securing your app by using Appdome, there are several available options to complete your project, depending on your app lifecycle or workflow. These include:
- Customizing, Configuring & Branding Secure Mobile Apps.
- Deploying/Publishing Secure mobile apps to Public or Private app stores.
- Releasing Secured Android & iOS Apps built on Appdome.
Related Articles:
- How to Protect Android Apps Against BrasDex Trojan
- How to Protect Android Apps Against Xenomorph Trojan
- How to Protect Android Apps Against SpyNote Trojan
- How to Protect Android Apps Against Joker Trojan
How Do I Learn More?
If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.
Thank you!
Thanks for visiting Appdome! Our mission is to secure every app on the planet by making mobile app security easy. We hope we’re living up to the mission with your project.