APT C-23 Hackers Using New Android Spyware Variant to Target Middle East Users

A threat actor known for striking targets in the Middle East has evolved its Android spyware yet again with enhanced capabilities that allow it to be stealthier and more persistent while passing off as seemingly innocuous app updates to stay under the radar.

The new variants have “incorporated new features into their malicious apps that make them more resilient to actions by users, who might try to remove them manually, and to security and web hosting companies that attempt to block access to, or shut down, their command-and-control server domains,” Sophos threat researcher Pankaj Kohli said in a report published Tuesday.

Also known by the monikers VAMP, FrozenCell, GnatSpy, and Desert Scorpion, the mobile spyware has been a preferred tool of choice for the APT-C-23 threat group since at least 2017, with successive iterations featuring extended surveillance functionality to vacuum files, images, contacts and call logs, read notifications from messaging apps, record calls (including WhatsApp), and dismiss notifications from built-in Android security apps.

images from Hacker News