Lookout Research: Nation-State Mobile Malware Targets Syrians with COVID-19 Lures
Lookout researchers have uncovered a long-running surveillance campaign tied to Syrian nation-state actors, which recently started using the novel coronavirus as its newest lure to entice its targets to download malware. This campaign appears to have been active since the start of January 2018, and targets Arabic-speaking users, likely in Syria and the surrounding region.
None of these apps were available on the official Google Play Store, suggesting they were likely distributed through actor-operated watering holes or third-party app stores. Lookout previously reported on another surveillanceware campaign using COVID-19 related lures targeting Libya.