A DEVASTATING hack attack capable of wiping your phone of all its data has made its way to the UK, experts have warned.
Android users have been put on high alert about a catastrophic threat dubbed BRATA, which has evolved significantly since it was first discovered in 2019.
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Originally a problem in Brazil, cyber investigators say it is now sweeping across Europe, with targets detected in the UK, Poland and Italy.
Victims are hit with a double whammy, not only losing precious personal data from smartphones but their hard-earned money too.
The latest twist on this malicious threat is specifically targeting online banking users, fraud prevention firm Cleafy cautioned.
“According to our findings, we can expect BRATA to keep staying undetected and to keep developing new features,” the firm said.
Crooks sneakily cause havoc for helpless users by wiping their phones, in a shameless bid to remove all traces of their foul play.
Fraudsters tend to pull off the heist by pretending to be bank customer support staff.
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The evolving malware threat has now ballooned to the point that it is capable of using GPS tracking on your phone as well, though worryingly experts can’t work out why that would be of use to cyber criminals.
Android users have been advised to avoid downloading apps from shaddy websites.
Instead, it’s best to only install apps from the Google Play Store, and scan them with an antivirus tool.
They also say people should watch out for the stuff apps request permission for, steering clear of any that appear unnecessary.
BRATA started out as a remote access tool for hackers, first uncovered by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.
It’s not clear how widespread the issue is, but traces of the bug have also been spotted in China and Latin America.
Android is the world’s biggest operating system, adopted by the likes of Samsung, LG and Sony on their smartphones.
The Google-owned software is used on over 3billion devices.
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New Google Android bug ‘lets hackers spy through your phone’s camera’, experts warn
In other news, a new space station for Tom Cruise to shoot movies on has caused jaws to drop for all the wrong reasons.
Scientists have pinpointed when they believe the Sun will explode and wipe out everything on Earth in the process.
And Apple is working on a fix for a recently discovered bug that is capable of exposing the personal data of iPhone users.
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
