How to Protect Android Apps Against Godfather Malware

Learn how to detect and protect against Godfather Android malware using Appdome’s no-code unified mobile app defense platform.

What is Godfather Malware?

Godfather is an Android banking Trojan that targets over 500 banking and cryptocurrency apps across 16 countries globally. It uses overlay attacks to mimic legitimate app interfaces, tricking users into entering login credentials on fake screens. By exploiting Android’s Accessibility Services, Godfather monitors user interactions and intercepts SMS messages, enabling it to bypass two-factor authentication (2FA) mechanisms. The malware’s ability to masquerade as trusted financial applications and dynamically evade detection makes it a significant threat. Developers and security professionals should protect against Godfather malware to prevent financial losses, unauthorized access, and data breaches, which carry severe risks for both users and businesses. Godfather’s specific capabilities include monitoring Accessibility Services to capture interactions, performing overlay attacks to harvest login credentials, intercepting SMS for 2FA bypass, and using deceptive tactics to gain permissions and access sensitive data without raising suspicion. Godfather can also mimic user actions on infected Android devices with new gesture automation commands.

How Does Appdome Protect Against Godfather?

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

• RASP & App Shielding – Prevents Godfather 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 which hackers use to read and understand source code.
• Root Detection –  Protects mobile apps from running on rooted devices, which exposes apps to tampering, data theft, and malware by giving attackers elevated access to system files and app data.
• MitM Attack Prevention  – Prevents Godfather from intercepting or hijacking sessions to harvest or steal data that it uses to conduct ATOs.
• Overlay Attack Prevention – Detects and prevents fake/malicious screen overlays from displaying on top of the app screen and concealing the legitimate app screen.
• Keylogging Prevention – Prevents the use of malicious keyloggers which are used to intercept two-factor authentication codes or harvest sensitive information.
• Accessibility Services Malware Defense – Prevents malicious actions taken by malware that exploit Android’s AccessibilityService, which is abused by Godfather to intercept sensitive inputs like passwords and 2FA codes, OTPs, take screenshots, and simulate user actions such as taps and swipes.
• Google Play Store Signature Validation – protects against fake apps, clones, masquerading.

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

Prerequisites

To use Appdome’s to protect Android apps against Godfather, 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 BrasDex Malware
• How to Protect Android Apps Against Xenomorph Malware
• 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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