- Home >
- Crime >
- Irish Crime
Gardaí issue warning about Flubot smartphone malware virus

FluBot Information.
Gardaí in collaboration with polices forces abroad have successfully disrupted a smartphone virus used to facilitate cybercrime.
The Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB) is part of an international law enforcement operation to take down the mobile phone malware known as FluBot.
FluBot is an Android malware that has been spreading aggressively through text messages. It has been stealing passwords, online banking details and other sensitive information from infected smartphones around the world.
The successful operation follows a complex criminal investigation coordinated by Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre EC3 and involved law enforcement authorities in Australia, Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the US.
Read more
GNCCB Detective Superintendent Pat Ryan said: “This operation has successfully disrupted and rendered ineffective the infrastructure behind the malware.
"The Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau continue work collaboratively with international law enforcement agencies to target the criminal networks responsible for all forms of cybercrime. The investigation is ongoing to identify the individuals behind this global malware campaign.”
FluBot malware is disguised as an application, so it can be difficult to spot.
Gardaí said malware apps do not open when a smartphone user taps on them and when someone tries to uninstall them, an error message appears instead.
Smartphone users have been advised to reset their phone’s factory settings if they think a malware app has been downloaded on their device.
Today's Headlines
live and kicking | Ronan Keating laughs off son Jack's claims on Love Island that he has retired
Disturbing | Chicago Fourth of July shooter identified as Donald Trump supporting rapper
FASHION VICTIM | Ian Bailey selling his own range of t-shirts for €20 a pop
controversy | Graeme McDowell says he has ‘had death threats over Saudi decision’
Terrifying | Armagh kidnapper who dragged woman ‘screaming' into car boot faces indeterminate sentence
Dangerous mind | Teacher tried to cover up helping students cheat with threatening ‘IRA’ letters, court told
Recovery | Michelle Heaton says her kids ‘went through things no child should’ as she battled alcoholism
Tragedy | One Irish man dead and another injured in US as overturned car discovered on fire
Investigation | Premier League footballer ‘arrested on suspicion of rape’ of woman in her 20s
Appalling | Burglary gang brutally beats vulnerable Carlow pensioner for just €100