Despite the arrest of important operators in early 2024, Grandoreiro continues to be used by its partners in new campaigns. Kaspersky Global Research and Analysis team (GReAT) has discovered a new light version focused on Mexico targeting around 30 banks. These findings are to be highlighted at the Security Analyst Summit (SAS) 2024. Remaining one of the most active threats globally, Grandoreiro accounts for around five percent of banking trojan attacks this year. Mexico is one of the most targeted countries by Grandoreiro variants, including the new light version, seeing 51,000 recorded incidents this year.
After assisting an INTERPOL-coordinated action, which has led to Brazilian authorities arresting operators behind a Grandoreiro banking trojan operation, Kaspersky discovered that the group’s codebase has been split into lighter, fragmented versions of the trojan, to continue its attacks. Recent analysis has identified a specific light version focused primarily on Mexico, which has been used to target approximately 30 financial institutions. The creators likely have access to the source code and are launching new campaigns using the simplified legacy malware.