PANews reported on June 24 that according to Cointelegraph, cybersecurity company Kaspersky issued a warning that a new malware, SparkKitty, has been discovered. It steals photos from infected devices in an attempt to find mnemonics for encrypted wallets. The software attacks iOS and Android devices by infiltrating some apps in Apple and Google app stores. After infection, it steals all images from the photo album indiscriminately. Kaspersky said that although it suspected that the attacker's main target was screenshots of mnemonics, the stolen images may contain other sensitive data.

Affected apps include "Coin" on the App Store and the SOEX communication app downloaded more than 10,000 times on Google Play. After being notified by Kaspersky, Google has removed and banned the developer. A Google spokesperson said that Android users are automatically protected by Google Play Protect. In addition, SparkKitty has also been spread through casino apps, adult games and malicious TikTok clones, similar to SparkCat discovered in January this year, and may come from the same source. The attack mainly targets users in Southeast Asia and China, but it is technically possible to attack users in other regions.