The German authorities in charge of financial affairs issued a warning in reaction to the rapid spread of a new piece of financial malware affecting banking and cryptocurrency applications. The malware is causing interruptions in user transactions.

Godfather is a piece of malware that can be found in banking and cryptocurrency apps and steals user data. On January 9, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) published an official statement warning clients about Godfather.

According to BaFin’s findings, the newly discovered malware targets its destructive capabilities at more than 400 banking and cryptocurrency applications, some of which are even used in Germany.

Godfather virus tricks users into entering their login information by claiming to be reputable cryptocurrency and banking software websites. This allows the infection to steal sensitive information.

According to the regulatory authority, it has not yet been determined how the virus infects the devices that customers use in their daily lives. It is well known that the virus will send push notifications in an effort to obtain the codes for two-factor authentication.

The first Godfather warnings appeared in December, with reports indicating that the virus was affecting Android mobile phones and targeting people in a total of sixteen different countries.

The malware is said to have undergone significant code updates and improvements and has seen a significant increase in activity in recent months. Group-IB cybersecurity professionals were reportedly the first to discover the Godfather Trojan in 2021. However, the software has reportedly seen a significant increase in activity in recent months.

Group-IB information security experts have found that more than half of all applications that have been attacked by Godfather are banking applications, and most of these applications originate from the United States. One of the countries hardest hit by the crisis is Germany. Other countries that fall into this category are Turkey, Spain and Canada.

Additionally, there are 110 bitcoin exchange websites and 94 cryptocurrency wallet programs known to be targeted by the virus.

In recent years, cryptojacking has become one of the most common types of cybercrime targeting cryptocurrency applications.