NCC Issues A Warning To Telecom Customers About The Flubot Malware

NCC Issues A Warning To Telecom Customers About The Flubot Malware

Iexclusivenews Nigeria reports that The National Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a warning to telecom customers about the Flubot malware and has provided a list of precautions to take in the event of an attack.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a warning to millions of Nigerian telecom customers about a new, high-risk, and extremely harmful Malware known as Flubot.

A malware as we know is a generic word used to describe a virus or software, designed specially to “disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system.” The commission issued the warning in a statement signed by Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, on Friday.

The commission also suggested steps Telecom Consumers can take to protect themselves from this malicious attempt.

Flubot “targets Androids with phony security updates and App installations,” according to information acquired from the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT) on October 21, 2021, according to Dr. Adinde.

“The ngCERT affirmed that Flubot “impersonates Android mobile banking applications to draw fake web view on targeted applications” and its goal transcends stealing personal data and essentially targets stealing of credit card details or online banking credentials.

“FluBot is circulated through Short Message Service (SMS) and can snoop “on incoming notifications, initiate calls, read or write SMSes, and transmit the victim’s contact list to its control centre.”

“This malware attacks Android devices by pretending to be “FedEx, DHL, Correos, and Chrome applications” and compels unsuspecting users to alter the accessibility configurations on their devices in order to maintain continuous presence on devices.

“The new malware undermines the security of devices by copying fake login screens of prominent banks, and the moment the users enter their login details on the fake pages, their data is harvested and transmitted to the malware operators’ control point from where the data is exploited by intercepting banking-related One Time Passwords (OTPs) and replacing the default SMS app on the targeted Android device”.

As a result, malware gains access to the device via SMS and then sends similar messages to other contacts who may be on the device it has infiltrated, persuading them to download the bogus software.

It goes without saying that infecting a gadget with Flubot can result in enormous financial losses.

Additionally, the malware installs a backdoor on the user’s device, allowing the invader or attacker to carry out other illicit activities, such as launching other malware versions.

The NCC wishes to reiterate the ngCERT advisory in light of this discovery and understanding of the process by which this malware operates, and in order to protect millions of telecom consumers and prevent criminal forces, regardless of location, from using telecom platforms to perpetrate fraud and irreversible damages, as follows:

1. Do not click on the link if you receive a suspicious text message, and do not install any app or security update the page asks you to install.
2. Use updated antivirus software that detects and prevents malware infections.
3. Apply critical patches to the system and application.
4. Use strong passwords and enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) over logins.
   Back-up your data regularly.
5. If you have been affected by this campaign, you should reset your device to factory mode as soon as possible. This will delete any data on your phone, including personal data.
6. Do not restore from backups created after installing the app.
7. You may contact ngCERT on incident@cert.gov.ng for technical assistance.
8. You will also need to change the passwords to all of your online accounts, with urgency, around your online bank accounts.
9. If you have concerns that your accounts may have been accessed by unauthorised people, contact your bank immediately.

While the Commission reaffirms its commitment to empowering consumers through useful information and education to protect them from falling victim to all types of cyber-attacks while online, it also reaffirms its commitment to ensuring increased broadband access, allowing telecoms consumers to carry out their legitimate activities more efficiently and effectively online.

This is why NCC is launching a Centre for Computer Security Incident Response in the telecom sector on September 30th, 2021.