Rechercher
Contactez-nous Suivez-nous sur Twitter En francais English Language
 

Freely subscribe to our NEWSLETTER

Newsletter FR

Newsletter EN

Vulnérabilités

Unsubscribe

Trusteer says Zeus’ arrival as number two malware threat direct result of May source code leaks

September 2011 by Trusteer

A report just issued showing the infamous Zeus malware as having shot to the number two spot in the malware charts comes as no surprise, says Trusteer.

According to Amit Klein, the Web browser security specialist’s CTO, since his research team confirmed in spring 2011 that the Zeus source code had effectively been cracked and shared between cybercriminals, a rise in the usage of the malware by darker elements of the Internet was inevitable.

“The rise of Zeus’ popularity as a means of extracting money from Internet users is one of the reasons we constantly monitor it - and other forms of malware - to prevent them from executing. This is essential since 24 million Internet users depend on our free Rapport compact software agent to protect them,” he said.

“Ever since Zeus first appeared back in late 2006 we have been monitoring its evolution, which has been mainly via malware email campaigns. Because the malware can be updated and modified, there are now a great many variants, some of which are quite different in their approach to extract money from users than the earlier versions of the malware,” he added.

Klein went on to say that, regardless of the way the code of Zeus has been modified, its primary aim is to gain access to an Internet users’ bank account or similar online financial service and generate unauthorised transfers to third-party accounts from where the money disappears into the fraudster’s coffers.

The latest threat landscape report from our colleagues at Fortinet, which tracked a Zeus botnet variant as the second most active malware during August, he says, is the direct result of the continuing evolution of the malware and the release of its source code into the public domain back in spring 2011.

The good news, he explained, is that Trusteer’s excellence in being able to track and counter the effects of Zeus and other forms of malware on Rapport users’ computers, has been recognised by a number of leading experts.

Our Trusteer Pinpoint server-side software, says Klein, can detect high risk transactions initiated from devices accessing protected web applications. Trusteer Pinpoint determines a transaction risk score based on device, user and transaction anomalies detected during login and other sensitive web transactions. Applications and risk engines can incorporate the findings to limit application access or determine the overall business risk of the transaction.

“With officially recognised advanced security software like Trusteer Pinpoint and Rapport helping banks and their customers better defend against the effects of Zeus - and the many other types of malware out there on the Internet – we can help online banking service better defend their money, whilst still gaining easy access online,” he said.

“The Web browser is now a primary battleground for fending off attacks that threaten online banking, e-commerce, personal privacy, and even corporate computer networks, so that’s where we continue to focus our efforts when it comes to thwarting financial criminals. When organisations use Trusteer Pinpoint and Rapport together they not only prevent themselves becoming victims, but also gain the intelligence to turn the tables and fight back against these fraudsters.”


See previous articles

    

See next articles


Your podcast Here

New, you can have your Podcast here. Contact us for more information ask:
Marc Brami
Phone: +33 1 40 92 05 55
Mail: ipsimp@free.fr

All new podcasts