CBI alerts states, UTs on banking trojan 'Cerberus' exploiting COVID-19 crisis

The Central Bureau of Investigation has issued an alert to state governments, Union Territories and central agencies warning them of a trojan virus that uses updates related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The alert has been sent on the basis of inputs received from INTERPOL, the CBI said. 

Based on inputs received from INTERPOL, CBI has issued an alert relating to a banking Trojan known as Cerberus, the agency said. 

"This malicious software takes advantage of COVID-19 Pandemic to impersonate and send SMS using the lure of COVID-19 related content to download the embedded malicious link, which deploys its malicious app usually spread via phishing campaigns to trick users into installing it on their smartphones," it said. 

"This Trojan primarily focuses on stealing financial data such as credit card numbers. In addition, it can use overlay attacks to trick victims into providing personal information and can capture two-factor authentication details," it added.