08/27/2026

Mobile banking trojans expand capabilities; 66% now allow full device takeover

SC World Media

The threat of mobile banking trojans significantly expanded in 2025, with two-thirds of malware families now enabling full device control and 45% enabling financial extortion, including ransomware, Zimperium’s zLabs research team revealed Tuesday.

Zimperium’s 2026 Mobile Banking Heist Report highlighted advancements over the last year based on the analysis of 34 active mobile malware families targeting a total of 1,243 financial brands across 90 countries. The United States was noted to have the greatest number of affected brands, with a total of 162 U.S. banking apps targeted by mobile malware.

Overall, banking trojan attacks on Android smartphones increased by 56% last year, according to Zimperium, with the total number of unique banking trojan installation packages rising to 255,090, a 271% year-over-year increase. About one in every 20 verification attempts to online financial services is estimated to be fraudulent as of 2025, and 80% of financial fraud events now occur on online or mobile platforms, the report stated.