Beware! This Malicious Phishing Software ‘Cerberus’ Could Infect Smartphones

New Delhi: At a time when the coronavirus cases in the country have crossed 1-lakh mark, the Central Bureaus of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday issued an alert to states, UTs on a malicious phishing software called ‘Cerberus’ that uses COVID-19 messages to infect smartphones. Also Read – Centre Revises SOP For Shramik Special Trains, Says Consent From Destination States Not Needed

Based on inputs received from Interpol, the CBI asked the state and UTS to be on guard against this malicious phishing software. Also Read – Lockdown 4.0: In Revised Guidelines, Maharashtra Allows Industries, Construction Sites to Operate in Red Zones

As per the CBI, this software takes advantage of the coronavirus situation and sends SMS using COVID-19 related content and asks users to download an embedded malicious link to trick them into installing it on their smartphones. Subsequently, this software steals financial data such as credit card numbers etc from the user’s phones. Also Read – IOC Asks International Federations to Finalise Dates of Tokyo Games Qualifiers

Moreover, this software can use overlay attacks to trick victims to provide personal information and can capture two-factor authentication details as well.