Cisco report: Online banking, social networks are fertile new ground for cyber criminals
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
With Facebook tripling its user base and more customers than ever using online banking services, the opportunities have been obvious for online criminals - and they have not failed to take advantage.
A report issued today by Cisco says that a social media worm known as Koobface was the most creative new piece of malware seen in 2009, infecting close to 3 million PCs and spreading via bogus links to video sharing sites to the friends of infected users. Cisco's "most audacious criminal operation" of 2009 was the Trojan campaign using the Zeus malware, one of many sophisticated new banking Trojans to appear this year.
Clampi and URLZone were two of the more dangerous entries on that list, with both programs using highly advanced means to circumvent anti-virus software and steal sensitive personal financial information.
Cisco, among other security firms, notes that one of the reasons behind the growing sophistication and effectiveness of cyber criminals is their increasing organization. Instead of a group of bored teens operating from North American basements, the modern hacker gang is an efficient criminal enterprise, frequently run from Russia or other Eastern European countries.
Related News:
Network security update not responsible for crashes - 2.24.2010
Reports of the so-called "blue screen of death" following the installation of the latest Microsoft security update are the result of malware, not a defect in the update.
Botnets and Chuck Norris take aim at network security - 2.22.2010
Last week, word spread of the Kneber botnet compromising more than 2,000 computers worldwide. With the start of a new week comes more malware attacks plaguing the web community. The so-called "Chuck Norris" botnet is attacking routers and DSL modems by guessing commonly used passwords.
Web security company warns of scareware's risk - 2.19.2010
The rise in scareware attacks and cyber criminal behavior in general forced DynaSis, an IT services company, to issue a warning to its users about the threat of fake anti-virus software infecting their computers on Friday.
Age-old trick with brand-new target - 1.18.2010
Cyber criminals have turned to a scam from the early days of the internet to target the growing smartphone market: Trojan phone dialers.
Report: 'At least 34' firms attacked at the same time as Google - 1.15.2010
The Washington Post asserts that many U.S. companies were targeted in the same network security and email breach that affected Google and provoked the company's highly publicized spat with the Chinese government.
|
