Ankura CTIX FLASH Update - October 17, 2023

Malware Activity

Malicious Rocket Alerting Application Discovered Targeting Israeli Android Users

Researchers have discovered threat actors targeting rocket alerting applications and creating malicious versions to target Israeli Android users. As of October 13, 2023, over 5,000 rockets have been launched into Israel following the Hamas attacks that began on October 7, 2023. The app "RedAlert - Rocket Alerts" was developed by Elad Nava to allow individuals to receive "timely and precise alerts about incoming airstrikes" and has been downloaded over 1 million times. A malicious Google Android Application (APK) of the "RedAlert - Rocket Alerts" application has been identified on a malicious website (created on October 12, 2023) impersonating the legitimate site. Researchers noted that an iOS application is also shown on the website but refers users to the legitimate iOS application. The fraudulent Android application acts as spyware and requests permissions to