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Cyber Risks · ESET WeLiveSecurity

Prompt Spy ushers in the era of Android threats using Gen AI

Summary: ESET researchers discovered PromptSpy, the first known Android malware to use generative AI in its execution flow, sending Google's Gemini an XML dump of the current screen and receiving JSON tap instructions to keep the app pinned in the recent apps list. The malware, uploaded to VirusTotal from Argentina on February 10, 2026, builds on an earlier family called VNCSpy and adds a built-in VNC module for full remote device control, invisible overlays that block uninstallation, lockscreen data capture, and AES-encrypted C&C traffic to 54.67.2[.]84.

Why it matters: PromptSpy's AI component is confined to one persistence feature, yet it lets the malware adapt to any device layout or OS version - widening the pool of potential victims beyond what hardcoded taps and coordinates could reach. The samples were distributed through a Chase Bank lookalike site targeting users in Argentina, and ESET has not seen the dropper or payload in its own telemetry, leaving open whether this is a proof of concept or already in the wild.

Read the original at ESET WeLiveSecurity ↗

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Malware
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