A new Android banking trojan that uses a mix of human and artificial intelligence agents to steal from victims is now targeting a payments system relied on by tens of millions of people.
According to cybersecurity firm Zimperium, the PixRevolution banking malware is targeting users of Brazil’s PIX payment system by first surveilling them in real-time and then draining their funds when they initiate transactions.
Per Zimperium, PixRevolution banking malware drains funds in a five-step process that includes monitoring for victims to initiate PIX payments.
Upon detecting an imminent PIX transaction, the malware notifies its command and control server, which subsequently alerts an AI or human agent to start watching the victim’s screen in real time. Once the process to transfer funds is underway, the agent sends a command that discreetly changes the intended recipient to the attacker’s preferred account.
“What distinguishes this threat from conventional banking trojans is its fundamental design: a human or AI agent operator is actively engaged on the remote end, observing the victim’s phone screen instantaneously, poised to act at the precise moment of transaction.”
Zimperium says that victims don’t usually notice anything unusual as their banking app performs as normal and they receive all the confirmations necessary to conclude that a successful transaction took place. According to Zimperium, it is only later that victims realize that the money was sent to the wrong recipient.
“And because PIX transfers are instant and final, recovery is extraordinarily difficult.”
The PIX payment system processes over three billion transactions every month and boasts more than 150 million registered users.
Some of the financial institutions that the PixRevolution banking malware is targeting include Santander Brasil, Banco do Brasil and Nubank. In 2021, the investing conglomerate associated with legendary investor Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, invested $0.5 billion in Nubank.
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