The alleged author of Bilal Bot recently asked an IBM researcher to correct assertions the researcher had made in a post about the dissemination of the Android malware.
Limor Kessem, executive security adviser at IBM, wrote that the crimeware developer was dissatisfied that her March 11 post failed to distinguish the author's malware from that offered by two competitors whose sales of GM Bot and KNL Bot had been banned from underground forums.
The malware is now out of beta, the coder said, so its price has increased. Kessem was told that the malware should no longer be designated as a low cost alternative to GM Bot, as she had referred to it in her earlier post. The developer offered to further clarify with an interview.
The crimeware can siphon data from mobile devices to enable identity theft leading to online banking fraud.
