Gold Pickaxe can create deep fakes to steal your identity, verify your identity at banks, perform social engineering attacks and much more…
New ones appear every week Malware Now the majority are dedicated to smartphones, no matter how much they are Apple or Google make an effort In improving the accessibility mechanisms of their app stores, the truth is that Not all malicious applications are detected in time Infecting thousands of devices and even stealing sensitive information.
In this case we are talking about it New and dangerous Malware His name is “Golden Axe” Capable of infecting both Android and iOS operating systems, whose modern features make us fear for our security more than ever Connected. Indeed, the “Golden Axe” It can steal photos, detect faces and create them Deep fakes To use it for countless activities that are not good at all.
According to reputable media outlets like Sleeping computerIts first applications are used in… Social engineering attack schemesVictims are tricked into obtaining full scans of their faces and even their identity documents, which they then submit Can be used to authenticate banking applications Or similar.
Viruses and malware are also adapting to the times, and using social engineering “Gold Pickaxe” they can even get into your smartphone to steal your face and authenticate it in financial applications or other activities.
This new computer virus was discovered by Group-IB And It was developed by a well-known Chinese group calling itself “gold factory”, which is also responsible for other cyber threats to smartphones. Their attacks have so far been directed at Asia Thailand and Vietnam as main destinationsalthough the technologies used are completely scalable on a global level.
So that you are clear about how the device got infected with this type of virus MalwareMost It is distributed through messaging services such as Line or WhatsAppWhere anyone may collect information about us Trick us into accessing an infected website or installing certain applications Or profiles that are camouflaged but contain malware.
Once this is done, The Trojan installed on a smartphone can operate independently Control many functions, access memory, manipulate settings, and even the ability to Detect images, capture them and send them with our face to remote serverswhere those will be created Deep fakes It is used to bypass biometric authentication security measures for many financial applications.
It's also more dangerous on Android, since Apple's system is more restrictive about the permissions that apps get, so we have to have Be very careful when accessing untrustworthy websites They send it to us through WhatsApp.
According to the sources There are more than 20 malicious applicationsMost of them have already been removed from the Play Store, where the “Gold Pickaxe” Trojan was located. Some with names like “Digital Pensions” Which replaces governmental organizations.
It is important to note that Gold Pickaxe is installed with the consent of the deceived victim, as it is unable to exploit critical vulnerabilities in the operating system or steal biometric authentication data.
Face detection screenshots on photos stolen from the gallery
between the Activities that the “Gold Pickaxe” can do Once you install it on your mobile phone, you are done Clicks on the screen, Browse the file system Without restrictions, Access to SMS Where 2FA codes are received, Upload photos from album or galleryDownload and install other applications and even send fake notifications to trick the user.
Of course, highlight that he Malware Unable to hijack biometric data Face ID or fingerprint reader, or It also does not exploit vulnerabilities in the operating system It was installed with the consent of the victim. Face detection using artificial intelligence techniques will be performed directly on the stolen images.
Pay attention because your best antivirus is always yourself!
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