A Slovakian cybersecurity company, called ESET, has launched the alert regarding two messaging services that are able to access WhatsApp 'backups' - thus stealing information such as text messages, contact list, call log, location device, among others.
The cybersecurity company indicates that the responsible group, named SpaceCobra, created the BingeChat and Chatico apps that (fortunately) are not available in the official Google store. Even so, apps can be installed from dedicated websites, so you are advised not to download from unknown and suspicious websites.
The apps also cannot be found in the Play Store
This is a very sophisticated malware application. You can usually find them on the Play Store and download them. But that's not the case here. Apps cannot be found on the Play Store or other app stores. Instead, they can only be downloaded by visiting a special website and opening an account.
ESET researchers were unable to open an account on the site as registrations showed as “closed” when they visited the site. This leads researchers to believe that hackers are being very precise about who to attack. Potentially, they are looking at specific locations or IP addresses.
Apparently most of the victims seem to be from India. Which seems right, since WhatsApp is very popular in that country. The attackers are also from Pakistan. And apparently the campaign has been active since last year.
So how can you protect yourself? Well, since this application requires account registration, don't register an account on any suspicious looking website. Especially one that wants your WhatsApp login credentials. That's asking for bad news.
When these apps are installed and with the registration made, it is possible for those responsible to access sensitive information of users. The campaign around these apps seems to be taking place mainly in India, one of the main territories for WhatsApp, but caution is advised.
