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Posts tagged botnet
Kneber botnet virus attacks 75,000 computers worldwide
Feb 19th
DAILY NEWS
February 18th 2010
A new computer virus has infected almost 75,000 computers worldwide – including 10 U.S. government agencies – collecting login credentials from online financial, social networking sites and email systems and reporting back to hackers.
The virus, dubbed the Kneber botnet, is thought to be the brainchild of an Eastern European criminal group that is likely selling the information on the black market, according to the Internet security firm NetWitness, which uncovered the attacks in January.
The attacks are continuing and corporate losses are still being compiled, said NetWitness chief technology officer Tim Belcher.
The FBI, Department of State and Department of Homeland Security have been notified, Belcher said.
More >
BOT-WAR : New Russian botnet tries to kill rival
Feb 18th
‘Kill Zeus’ removes rival software from PCs, giving Spy Eye access to usernames, passwords
By Robert McMillan
IDG News Service
February 9, 2010
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9154618/New_Russian_botnet_tries_to_kill_rival
IDG News Service – An upstart Trojan horse program has decided to take on its much-larger rival by stealing data and then removing the malicious program from infected computers.
Security researchers say that the relatively unknown [Spy Eye toolkit] added this functionality just a few days ago in a bid to displace its larger rival, known as Zeus.
The feature, called “Kill Zeus,” apparently removes the Zeus software from the victim’s PC, giving Spy Eye exclusive access to usernames and passwords.
Zeus and Spy Eye are both Trojan-making toolkits, designed to give criminals an easy way to set up their own “botnet” networks of password-stealing programs. These programs emerged as a major problem in 2009, with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation estimating last October that they have caused $100 million in losses.
Trojans such as Zeus and Spy Eye steal online banking credentials. This information is then used to empty bank accounts by transferring funds to so-called money mules — U.S. residents with bank accounts — who then move the cash out of the country.
More >CRIME ECONOMY : $30 will buy a one-day DDoS attack now
Oct 20th
With botnets everywhere, DDoS attacks get cheaper
By Robert McMillan ,
IDG News Service,
October 15, 2009
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/101509-with-botnets-everywhere-ddos-attacks.html?hpg1=bn
Cyber-crime just doesn’t pay like it used to.
Security researchers say the cost of criminal services such as distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attacks has dropped in recent months. The reason? Market economics. “The barriers to entry in that marketplace are so low you have people basically flooding the market,” said Jose Nazario, a security researcher with Arbor Networks. “The way you differentiate yourself is on price.”
Criminals have gotten better at hacking into unsuspecting computers and linking them together into so-called botnet networks, which can then be centrally controlled. Botnets are used to send spam, steal passwords, and sometimes to launch DDoS attacks, which flood victims’ servers with unwanted information. Often these networks are rented out as a kind of criminal software-as-a-service to third parties, who are typically recruited in online discussion boards.
DDoS attacks have been used to censor critics, take down rivals, wipe out online competitors and even extort money from legitimate businesses. Earlier this year a highly publicized DDoS attack targeted U.S. and South Korean servers, knocking a number of Web sites offline.
