Jill R. Aitoro reports: Most malware attacks against federal agencies are financially motivated, seeking to trick computer users into buying fake security software or providing personal information that can be used to hack into their bank accounts. Although espionage and terrorism often are considered the primary motivations for breaking into government networks, 90 percent of…
Category: Malware
Malware gang steal over £700K from one British bank
John Leyden reports: A banking Trojan attack has led to the fraudulent withdrawal of more than $1m from online banking accounts maintained with a UK bank since the start of July, according to security researchers. Web-based malware based on the infamous Zeus cybercrime toolkit is being used to steal money via the unnamed bank’s online…
RBS WorldPay hacker extradicted to Atlanta
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Northern Georgia issued a press release today announcing the extradition of Sergei Tsurikov, one of the alleged leaders of the Eastern European cybercrime group that hacked into RBS WorldPay in Atlanta in 2008. Tsurikov had been indicted in November 2009 on federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire…
Maine breach reports obtained by DataBreaches.net
To follow up on my curiosity about what kind of year 2010 is turning out to be, I decided to use a primary source. Thanks to the cooperation of officials in Maine who responded promptly to my requests under Freedom of Information, I was able to obtain data on all breaches reported to them for…
AVG uncovers new data-stealing Mumba botnet
Jeremy Kirk reports: Researchers at AVG have uncovered a botnet that has been harvesting personal information and uses the latest version of the Zeus code, underscoring the widespread use of the sophisticated malware. Dubbed the Mumba botnet, the campaign infected more than 35,000 computers when it started at the end of April, according to a…
(follow-up) AU: Alleged hacker pleads guilty to data theft
ABC News in Australia reports: An alleged computer hacker has confirmed guilty pleas to charges of theft of personal information. South Australian police alleged Anthony Scott Harrison, 21, infected more than 3,000 computers worldwide with software designed to capture bank and credit card details and had potential to infect up to 74,000 computers. Harrison has…