VB Migration

Tag: cybercrime

  • Sarkozy bank account raided by cybercrooks

    Hackers steal from French president – phish suspected. French president Nicolas Sarkozy has had his funds stolen from his bank account, apparently after a phishing email tricked him into handing over access codes, according to reports. The raid only lifted ‘small amounts’ from the account, and due to the widespread fame Sarkozy has picked up…

  • Trojan-to-worm automation tool spotted

    GUI gizmo adds extra spreading menace to any malware. Researchers at Panda have discovered a simple and colourful graphical application designed to add basic worm techniques to trojans, giving any piece of malicious code the ability to spread itself across networks. The tool, dubbed ‘Constructor/wormer’ by Panda , also allows a number of advanced options…

  • 41 months plus hefty fine for botherder

    Cross-border operation brings adware crook to book. A Florida man has been sentenced to 41 months in prison and fined $65,000 (approx. £32,000) after implanting bot software on systems belonging to a global corporation and using them to install adware. When brought before US courts in March, the man, Robert Matthew Bentley of Panama City,…

  • Spyware gang sneaks millions from SA government

    32 arrested but South Africa theft scam thought to be ongoing. An orchestrated series of spyware infiltrations has netted scammers over £12.8 million ($24.7 million) from the South African government, and thefts continue to take place despite the arrests of 32 suspects on 86 separate charges, according to local reports. Government officials told local news…

  • File encryption blackmail scam returns

    Kaspersky warns of new and nasty data-ransom trojan. Malware analysts at Kaspersky Lab have warned of the return of the ‘Gpcoder’ trojan, a nasty piece of ‘ransomware’ which encrypts victims’ files and demands money for the decryption key. Previous outbreaks of the scam, seen sporadically since the first appearance of such nasties in 2004, have…

  • EU agency research advises sweeping security improvements

    ISPs and developers should be held to account, says report. A research paper commissioned by the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) has called for major changes to the way security is currently handled, advising tighter regulations for developers and ISPs and the foundation of an independent agency to monitor cybercrime. The paper, prepared…

  • Cybercriminals charged in New Zealand, Korea

    Law closes in on alleged botnet master and rogue anti-spyware maker. Police in New Zealand have charged an 18-year-old in connection with a botnet he is suspected of building and controlling, while in South Korea the head of a company pushing a rogue anti-malware product has also been indicted on fraud charges. In the New…

  • Showy malware pushes rogue anti-malware product

    MonaRonaDona trojan leads searchers to remover scam. An infection which advertises its presence using the name ‘MonaRonaDona’ is leading victims to search for a cure – and many of them are finding a targeted rogue anti-malware application widely promoted on the web as a dedicated fix for the problem. In stark contrast to the stealth…

  • Botnet-herding team arrested in Quebec

    Gang held for managing million-machine zombie net. Canadian police have announced the arrests of up to 17 people in Quebec, in connection with a major botnet operation thought to have controlled as many as 1 million compromised systems all around the world. The Quebec and national police were behind a series of raids across the…

  • Phishers phishing phishers’ phishes

    Scam software secretly sending stolen data to creators. Phishing researchers have uncovered code buried in phishing software kits, sold by developers to less technically aware phishing gangs, which secretly forwards any valuable data gathered to its creators. The developers of much of the malware used in phishing were thought to mostly profit from sales of…