Detect ATS Malware in Android Apps Using AI

Last updated February 9, 2025 by Appdome

This Knowledge Base article describes how to use Appdome’s AI/ML in your CI/CD pipeline to continuously deliver plugins that Detect ATS Malware in Android apps.

What is ATS Malware?

ATS malware is a program that uses Automated Transfer Systems (ATS) methods to hijack transactions in Android apps.
ATS (Automated Transfer Systems) malware is designed to intercept and manipulate legitimate banking transactions on Android devices. This type of malware typically targets banking apps and exploits the transaction automation features used by banks to facilitate fund transfers between accounts. ATS malware gains access to a user’s bank account to carry out unauthorized transactions without the user’s knowledge. Attackers use various methods to enable these operations, including exploiting Android’s accessibility services or deploying overlay attacks to capture sensitive credentials. Once inside, the malware can initiate fraudulent transfers, intercept SMS messages, and even facilitate remote control of the device to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA) or other security measures. Protection against ATS malware is essential for maintaining compliance with financial regulations like PCI-DSS, which mandates secure handling of transaction data to prevent fraud. Effective defenses ensure that user transactions remain private and safeguarded against automated and covert financial manipulation.

How Appdome Protects Android Apps Against ATS Attacks?

Appdome’s dynamic Detect ATS Malware plugin prevents the operation of ATS malware by using the Android OS capability of hiding non-system overlays, which was introduced in Android 12.
When ATS malware protection is enabled as part of enabling the Prevent Accessibility Service Malware feature Appdome will detect active transaction hijacking attempts, blocks the attempt, provide a notification to the end user. Developers can leverage Appdome’s Threat-Events™ to gather insights on accessibility service threats and create custom responses, ensuring comprehensive security without disrupting legitimate accessibility features.

Prerequisites for Using Appdome's Detect ATS Malware Plugins:

To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Detect ATS Malware , you’ll need:

How to Implement Detect ATS Malware in Android Apps Using Appdome

On Appdome, follow these simple steps to create self-defending Android Apps that Detect ATS Malware without an SDK or gateway:

  1. Designate the Mobile App to be protected.

    1. Upload an app via the Appdome Mobile Defense platform GUI or via Appdome’s DEV-API or CI/CD Plugins.

    2. Android Formats: .apk or .aab
    3. Detect ATS Malware is compatible with: Java, JS, C++, C#, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, Cordova and other Android apps.
  2. Select the defense: Detect ATS Malware.

      1. Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Detect ATS Malware feature as shown below:
        fusion set that contains Detect ATS Malware

        Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Detect ATS Malware feature

      2. Follow the steps in Sections 2.2-2.2.2 of this article to add the Detect ATS Malware feature to your Fusion Set via the Appdome Console.

      3. 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 ATS Malware.

        Fusion Set applied Detect ATS Malware

        Figure 2: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Detect ATS Malware protection
        Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory).

      4. 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): fusion Set Detail Summary image

        Figure 3: Fusion Set Detail Summary

      5. 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:
        1. Refer to the Appdome API Reference Guide for API building instructions.
        2. Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository.
    1. Add the Detect ATS Malware feature to your security template.

      1. Navigate to Build > Anti ATO tab > Banking Trojans section in the Appdome Console.
      2. Toggle On Detect Bank Trojan Apps > Detect ATS Malware.
        Note: The checkmark feature Detect ATS Malware is enabled by default, as shown below. Detect ATS Malware option

        Figure 4: Selecting Detect ATS Malware

    2. Initiate the build command either by clicking Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 4) or via your CI/CD as described in Section 2.1.4.
    Congratulations!  The Detect ATS Malware protection is now added to the mobile app
  3. Certify the Detect ATS Malware feature in Android Apps

    After building Detect ATS Malware, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Detect ATS Malware protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Detect ATS Malware protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below: Detect ATS Malware shown in Certificate secure

    Figure 5: 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 ATS Malware has been added to each Android app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Detect ATS Malware and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app.

Using Threat-Events™ for ATS Malware Intelligence and Control in Android Apps

Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when ATS Malware is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for ATS Malware in Android Apps, use registerReceiver in the Application OnCreate, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for ATS Malware shown below.

The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for ATS Malware are:

Threat-Event™ Elements Detect ATS Malware Method Detail
Appdome Feature Name Detect ATS Malware
Threat-Event Mode
OFF, IN-APP DEFENSE Appdome detects, defends and notifies user (standard OS dialog) using customizable messaging.
ON, IN-APP DETECTION Appdome detects the attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (app chooses how and when to enforce).
ON, IN-APP DEFENSE Uses Appdome Enforce mode for any attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (gather intel on attacks and threats without losing any protection).
Certified Secure™ Threat Event Check
Visible in ThreatScope™
Developer Parameters for Detecting ATS Malware Threat-Event™
Threat-Event NAME BlockedATSModification
Threat-Event DATA reasonData
Threat-Event CODE reasonCode
Threat-Event REF 6939
Threat-Event SCORE
currentThreatEventScore Current Threat-Event score
threatEventsScore Total Threat-events score
Threat-Event Context Keys
message Message displayed for the user on event
failSafeEnforce Timed enforcement against the identified threat
externalID The external ID of the event which can be listened via Threat Events
osVersion OS version of the current device
deviceModel Current device model
deviceManufacturer The manufacturer of the current device
fusedAppToken The task ID of the Appdome fusion of the currently running app
kernelInfo Info about the kernel: system name, node name, release, version and machine.
carrierPlmn PLMN of the device. Only available for Android devices.
deviceID Current device ID
reasonCode Reason code of the occurred event
buildDate Appdome fusion date of the current application
devicePlatform OS name of the current device
carrierName Carrier name of the current device. Only available for Android.
updatedOSVersion Is the OS version up to date
deviceBrand Brand of the device
deviceBoard Board of the device
buildUser Build user
buildHost Build host
sdkVersion Sdk version
timeZone Time zone
deviceFaceDown Is the device face down
locationLong Location longitude conditioned by location permission
locationLat Location latitude conditioned by location permission
locationState Location state conditioned by location permission
wifiSsid Wifi SSID
wifiSsidPermissionStatus Wifi SSID permission status
threatCode The last six characters of the threat code specify the OS, allowing the Threat Resolution Center to address the attack on the affected device.

With Threat-Events™ enabled (turned ON), Android developers can get detailed attack intelligence and granular defense control in Android applications and create amazing user experiences for all mobile end users when ATS Malware is detected.


The following is a code sample for native Android apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Detect ATS Malware:


Important! Replace all placeholder instances of <Context Key> with the specific name of your threat event context key across all language examples. This is crucial to ensure your code functions correctly with the intended event data. For example, The <Context Key> could be the message, externalID, OS Version, reason code, etc.



Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Apps by using Detect ATS Malware. 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 ATS Malware

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:

Related Articles:

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.

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