The TrickMo Android banking malware now routes its command-and-control through The Open Network (TON), the decentralized peer-to-peer network originally built around Telegram, making the C2 infrastructure much harder to identify or take down. ThreatFabric (which tracks this variant as Trickmo.C) has been watching it since January in campaigns hitting users in France, Italy, and Austria. The malware disguises itself as TikTok or streaming apps and steals banking credentials and crypto wallet keys via phishing overlays, keylogging, SMS interception, OTP suppression, and live screen recording. The new variant also adds SSH tunneling, port forwarding, and SOCKS5 proxy commands, turning infected phones into a pivot point.
Google overhauled its Vulnerability Reward Program for Android and Chrome on May 1 in response to AI tools reshaping bug hunting. The maximum Pixel Titan M reward jumped to $1.5 million for a zero-click exploit with persistence. Chrome payouts dropped across categories. Google is rewarding 'actionable reports' with concrete exploits and suggested fixes rather than raw bug volume - a response to AI tools like Anthropic's Mythos and OpenAI's GPT-5.4-Cyber generating more vulnerability reports than security teams can triage. Google paid a record $17.1 million in 2025 (up 40% from 2024) and expects 2026 aggregate rewards to increase further despite per-bug cuts.
McAfee uncovered a rootkit campaign called Operation NoVoice that distributed malware through more than 50 legitimate-looking apps on Google Play - cleaners, games, and gallery tools - downloaded at least 2.3 million times. Once opened, the apps silently profile the device and download root exploits targeting Android vulnerabilities patched between 2016 and 2021. After rooting, the malware replaces core system libraries so every app the user opens runs attacker code. It survives factory resets on older devices because the payload lives on the system partition.
TrustStrike Labs