How to Protect Android Apps Against Exobot Malware

What is Exobot?

Exobot is an Android banking trojan that first emerged in 2016. It spreads through malicious apps, gaining access to sensitive information by using overlay attacks to steal banking credentials. Exobot can also intercept SMS messages, including one-time passwords (OTPs) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) codes. This ability allows attackers to bypass MFA protections and carry out Account Takeovers (ATOs), making Exobot particularly dangerous.

Exobot not only captures login credentials but also facilitates full account hijacking by intercepting the necessary authentication codes. This makes it a potent tool for financial fraud, allowing attackers to steal funds from compromised accounts by effectively bypassing security measures like two-factor authentication. The leaked source code of Exobot has led to the creation of multiple variants, amplifying its threat potential globally.

How Does Appdome Protect Against Exobot?

Taking all the above into consideration, you can use Appdome to protect against Exobot using a combination of the following protection methods:

• RASP – Prevents Exobot 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.
• 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 Exobot use overlay attacks to trick users into revealing sensitive information or performing harmful actions inadvertently.
• 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, masquerading, which malware often do to trick users into performing harmful actions.

Each of the protections above are linked to the relevant knowledge base article for that feature, which provide detailed information about each feature and also explain how to implement the protection in your Android app.

Prerequisites

To use Appdome’s to protect Android apps against Exobot, you’ll need the following:

• Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
• A license for the relevant features mentioned above.
• Mobile App (.apk or .aab for Android)
• Signing Credentials (see Signing Secure Android apps).

Related Articles:

• How to Protect Android Apps Against CraxsRAT Malware
• How to Protect Android Apps Against FjordPhantom Malware
• How to Protect Android Apps Against Panda Malware
• How to Protect Android Apps Against Brokewell Malware
• How to Protect Android Apps Against Hiddad Malware

If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.

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