This is the new banking Trojan that has already infected more than 1,500 devices

New malware puts device security at risk Android . It is about Poisonous Panda a banking Trojan that has spread among users in European and Latin American countries.

This malware which has attracted the attention of cybersecurity experts, seeks to infiltrate devices in order to steal banking information and funds from its victims’ accounts.

ToxicPanda is a financial Trojan derived from another previous malware, known as TgToxic, detected in 2023.

Despite its reduced functions compared to other modern Trojans, like its predecessor, it still poses a danger to devices. Its goal is to make money transfers directly from bank accounts, which is made possible by a technique known as device fraud.

Cybersecurity experts at Cleafy who reported on ToxicPanda, identified that it is specifically designed to bypass banks’ security measures.

The Trojan horse can commit financial fraud since intercepts one-time passwords (OTP) which are typically sent via SMS or generated by authentication apps, which can bypass two-factor authentication and perform fraudulent authorizations.

ToxicPanda’s capabilities also allow attackers to interact with the device remotely, from anywhere in the world, without the user’s knowledge.

As described Infobae This malware was also able to spread to thousands of devices because cybercriminals develop fraudulent applications, which aim to imitate real ones, in order to trick users into downloading the malware. These platforms resemble versions of browsers like Google Chrome.

When the user downloaded the fake app, the malware infects the device. It then begins to operate silently, avoiding detection tools. Users may not realize that ToxicPanda has compromised their device until they discover fraudulent transactions on their accounts.

Cleafy’s report states that since ToxicPanda appeared, infected more than 1,500 devices . Italy is the country of greatest concern, because it concentrates the 56.8% of cases . Then follow other countries like Portugal with 18.7%, Hong Kong with 4.6%, Spain with 3.9% and finally Peru with 3.4% .

Android users can take a number of preventive measures to reduce the chances of this malware appearing.

One of them is download apps only from official stores that’s to say Google Play Store And Galaxy Shop . Indeed, downloading platforms from other sources could increase the risk of acquiring this or other malware.

Another necessary step is review permissions requested by installed apps because some signs of malware could be discovered there.

Check that the operating system is up to date and track banking transactions can also be useful in preventing risks.