Viruses/Worms News

Virus makers embrace free distribution

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The authors of virus programs and Trojans are turning in increasing numbers to an open-source model of distribution and sales, experts say.

Offering malicious programs to users free of charge offers some advantages to cyber criminals. With large numbers of potential hackers examining a single piece of malware, the odds are better that one of them will be able to effect improvements. The Limbo Trojan recently published its source code after it was supplanted as the most widely used Trojan by the newer Zeus Trojan.

However, security experts say that publishing the innermost secrets of their malicious software also carries risks for virus programmers. Security professionals will have the same access to source code as hacker wannabes, making potential defenses to open-source viruses and Trojans easier to create.

Previously, most Trojans were sold for, at minimum, several hundred dollars. Cnet news says that the Zeus Trojan, whose source code has not been released, costs anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 on the black market today. Open source release is just one of many recent advances in Trojan programming, like the self-distribution system of the Clampi Trojan, which seeks out valuable financial information on infected machines.