Zimperium highlights rising mobile bot threats

5 Nov 2025

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Summary is AI-generated, newsdesk-reviewed

Mobile bots bypass security using emulators, runtime tools, and repackaged apps.
Bots perform account takeovers and payment fraud within insecure mobile apps.
Over 600 bot samples in recent campaigns highlight the growing mobile security threat.

Zimperium has drawn attention to the increasing risk posed by mobile bots operating within trusted applications.

These bots signify a novel type of automation, sidestepping conventional protective measures, such as CAPTCHAs, rate limits, and multi-factor authentication, thereby rendering them nearly indistinguishable from actual users and facilitating large-scale fraud.

Distinguishing mobile bots

This tactic results in various forms of fraud, including account takeovers, loyalty abuse

Unlike their web-based counterparts that generate suspicious network traffic, mobile bots operate on the client side, embedded within the application.

They exploit APIs, sessions, and the app's internal logic, making each action appear genuine to the backend servers interpreting them.

This tactic results in various forms of fraud, including account takeovers, loyalty abuse, and payment fraud, especially in apps insufficiently equipped to counter these threats.

Techniques employed by mobile bots

Mobile bots utilise diverse techniques to remain undetected and expand their influence, such as:

Emulators & Device Farms – Imitate thousands of real devices concurrently.
Runtime Injection Tools – Modify app logic in real time to bypass security protocols.
Repackaged Apps – Integrate bot code into modified versions of authentic applications.
Malware on Devices – Intercept app communication and automate internal actions.
Accessibility Abuse – Simulate user interactions like tapping, typing, and navigation within apps programmatically.

These methods make mobile bots increasingly challenging to detect and scale up in operation.

Enterprise risks and current threat landscape

Mobile applications have evolved into crucial access points for customer engagements, encompassing activities, such as logins, bookings, payments, and even healthcare records. Some mobile apps also underpin vital enterprise functions. Therefore, mobile bots are escalating beyond mere nuisances to significant business risks.

These bots operate from infrastructure controlled by attackers using emulators and device farms, or they reside silently on compromised devices, conducting fraudulent activities or disseminating malicious links. Recent investigations have identified over 600 bot samples and more than 50 dropper variants, underscoring the accelerated pace of this growing threat.

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Zimperium, the world pioneer in mobile security, highlighted the growing threat of mobile bots operating inside trusted apps. These bots represent a new form of automation that bypasses traditional defences, such as CAPTCHAs, rate limits, and MFA, making them nearly impossible to distinguish from legitimate users and enabling fraud at scale.

Unlike web-driven bots that flood networks with suspicious traffic, mobile bots run on the client side, inside the app itself. By exploiting APIs, sessions, and app logic, they blend seamlessly with real user behaviour, leaving backend servers to interpret every action as genuine.

Mobile bots

The result is account takeovers, loyalty abuse, and payment fraud executed from within insecure or under-protected apps that were never designed to detect them.

Mobile bots use a wide range of techniques to stay invisible and expand their reach, including:

Emulators & Device Farms – mimic thousands of real devices at once
Runtime Injection Tools – alter app logic in real time to bypass security checks
Repackaged Apps – embed bot code into cloned versions of legitimate apps
Malware on Devices – intercept app traffic and automate in-app actions
Accessibility Abuse – programmatically tap, type, and navigate inside apps.

Each method makes bots harder to spot and easier to scale.

Wide scale use of mobile apps

Mobile apps have become the front door for customer interactions: logins, bookings, payments, loyalty, and even health records. Others power critical enterprise operations. That makes mobile bots more than a nuisance, they are a growing enterprise risk.

Some run from attacker-controlled infrastructure on emulators and device farms, while others live on compromised devices, quietly performing fraudulent actions or spreading malicious links. With more than 600 bot samples and 50+ droppers spotted in recent campaigns, the threat is accelerating.

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