A Basic Guide To Protect Against ‘GoldPickaxe’: First iPhone Trojan

An Android trojan dubbed GoldDigger surfaced last year. It steals biometric data and more from victims to compromise their bank accounts. In a significant development, the threat has grown into the GoldPickaxe trojan that can harm both iOS and Android. A security firm Group-IB discovered GoldPickaxe as the world’s first iOS trojan. When installed on an iPhone, the malware collects a user’s biometric information from photos and SMS text messages. After that, it intercepts web activity and more. In some cases, victims have been contacted by malware parties posing as bank representatives asking for details like pictures of ID cards.

The GoldPickaxe iPhone trojan has been targeting users in Vietnam and Thailand. The good piece of news is that there are many simple ways to protect against the first iPhone trojan. So, don’t worry! I’ll jot down them for you!

How To Protect Against iPhone Trojan ‘GoldPickaxe’?

GoldPickaxe has been distributed through malicious iOS mobile device management (MDM) profiles. There are a few basic steps you can follow to protect your iPhones from this trojan:

1. Install Apps only through the App Store. Do not even try to install any iPhone app through Apple’s TestFlight unless you completely trust the developer or can verify its legitimacy.
2. Installing an iPhone MDM profile is quite risky. If you fully trust the source and can verify it’s legitimate, then install it. Check whether the profile comes directly from your IT administrator, place of work, trusted institution or not.
3. Keep your personal/sensitive information secure. If a party reaches out to you, do not share photos of yourself or ID cards through phone calls, video calls, or other communication.
4. If you have apprehensions about a financial account, log in directly at the bank/institution’s website to check the problem. Calling numbers or clicking links sent to you are often fraud and malware.
5. Update your iPhone to the latest software from Apple. It is quite simple. It now includes Rapid Security Response updates that come in between regular releases.