Zeus3 Trojan quietly steals $1m from bank accounts

[Matthew DeCarlo]

A new version of the Zeus Trojan has surfaced called Zeus3, and it's supposedly emptying bank accounts across the UK with the equivalent of over $1 million stolen thus far. According to experts at M86 Security (PDF), the malware first appeared early last month and is said to be the most "sophisticated and dangerous threat" the firm has ever seen.

In addition to simply collecting login credentials and bank details, apparently, the infection can siphon money from an account. It checks to see if an account contains more than £800, and if it does, the cash is silently funneled to mule accounts. Zeus3 then serves up fake bank balance to fool unwary users into thinking everything is fine.

"This is an extremely sophisticated version of the virus and it cannot be detected by traditional security software," said an M86 executive. Zeus3 has drained some 3,000 accounts from an unnamed British bank, and it only affects Windows systems. Since most antivirus applications can't detect the Trojan yet, you should keep a close watch on your funds and use unaffected platforms for online banking -- or just hide your money under a mattress until this whole thing blows over.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/39949-zeus3-trojan-quietly-steals-1m-from-bank-accounts.html

 

[Reloader2]

This scares the f**kout of me!

 

[mailpup]

I'm not in the UK but that doesn't necessarily make me safer but as it happens I don't bank online anyway. Hurray for analog banking.

 

[Timonius]

Governments and authorities of the world better rethink their positions on 'white hat' hackers. The good guys/gals doing stuff for fun can expose weaknesses and vulnerabilities before things get serious if only you didn't treat them like criminals. Perhaps then something like Zeus3 wouldn't even be an issue.

 

[raybay]

Interesting if true, interesting if not true. Sure think we would of heard a great deal more about it by now if the thefts really worked. Our Secuirity staff works on a lot of financial security issues, and I don't see how anybody could pull this off on a large scale. Think of all the thinks they would have to do right, Dudley.

 

[Leeky]

Very scary, but I think its only going to effect UK customers who aren't using card readers to log into online banking.

I fail to see how even this trojan could overwhelm the card reader system I have to use for my bank. The codes are never the same, and you physically have to read the chip in the card inside the reader before it will do a thing - I'm somewhat suprised most banks still rely on simple usernames, passwords and stuff that doesn't change...

Another bonus... I wish I had over £800 in my account!

 

[captaincranky]

Another bonus... I wish I had over £800 in my account!

Believe me, I know the feeling! I comfort myself with the old adage that, "he who steals my purse steals trash"...!

 

[TomSEA]

I absolutely loathe the jerk-offs who create viruses, worms and trojans whether to steal or to mess up your computer. I know the bulk of these are created in Russia or China, but if they are ever able to track down a western hacker who does this - I would have zero problem locking them up for life. After several days of torture, of course.

 

[captaincranky]

I absolutely loathe the jerk-offs who create viruses, worms and trojans whether to steal or to mess up your computer. I know the bulk of these are created in Russia or China, but if they are ever able to track down a western hacker who does this - I would have zero problem locking them up for life. After several days of torture, of course.

Really, I hear that. Besides, the Russians should stick to porn and online mail order brides. Those girls are HOT!

 

[LinkedKube]

SWORDFISH?

 

[Guest]

Malware like Zeus can defeat two-factor authentication. If the host that you use to log into your online bank account is compromised, it doesn't matter how sophisticated your authentication mechanism is.


"Bank sites that offer two-factor authentication, such as one-time passcodes and ID tokens, are ineffective because the malware has taken over the browser after the victim has logged into the banking..."

Excerpted from http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20013246-245.html

 

[maestromasada]

Hide your money under the mattress, love that!

 

[motrin]

first thing next morning i'm taking out my 8 moneys! (joke)

 

[T77]

it seems interesting,that this trojan can also throw up fake balances in accounts

 

[LinkedKube]

I already said "swordfish."

 

[techsuitor]

haha! .. Its really freakin .. even transactions online are really fast. Hackers can also come to your doors as fast as it. Tokens are not enough.

 

[techsuitor]

maybe the programmer of the system is the culprit, 'cause he can create backdoor. But, that's only a guess. Don't take it seriously. ..hmm.. but I have a point ,,

 

[LightHeart]

If you are going to do online financial transactions the best method today is to have a separate physical machine, a live boot cd or at least a VM. Harden that machine; only use it for the financial transactions and keep it turned off when not in use. Do not use your general system (browsing, Office, gaming) for these type of transactions. This will severely limit the likelihood of getting malware.

Someday maybe the banks will come out with a highly secure VM that people can use for online banking.

Of course you could skip online banking in general.

 

[Richy2k9]

hello ...

scary indeed, I may not have money in bank, but I use secured banking, i just hope it's enough.

I will work into strengthening my PC for this .. for i know till now it's all my fault / negligence that puts me at stake.

cheers!

 

[Zeromus]

Whew, good thing I'm not that loaded. Haha!

 

[raybay]

I still find no evidence that this story is actually true. Anybody have another source.

 

[Guest]

Dont hate the people creating these trojans. Hate the people that:

- use it for illegal activities
- don't take security serious
- rather have security issues then one less shiney
- try to social engeneer the rest of you into thinking that hackers are the problem

If anything, hackers are part of the fix. The fix being code that is as safe as possible and a fast reaction when it gets pointed out that it isnt.

Microsoft does not care about security. They care about licenses sold and market share. Hate them for creating the platform that makes this all possible to begin with. Something that has been pointed out to them over the last few decades without much result.

Hate the people that rather implement a quickfix instead of a solution.

And most of all: hate yourself for being unaware of how to protect your computer and the info on it, from abuse by others.

As reply to the two-factor authentication stuff: that is only true if AFTER logon, nothing gets checked anymore. I'm not sure how it works over there, but over here you have to repeat that step when you finalize your orders.

 

[bakape]

and it only affects Windows systems

Always take the road less traveled by, and that would be Linux.
Very unfortunate for the account owners, but I still get a smirk each time Windows is a condition for disaster

 

[Guest]

I so agree.

 

[Guest]

"(Lengthy speech) ...And most of all: hate yourself for being unaware of how to protect your computer and the info on it, from abuse by others."

That's a whole lot of hate. If I hated that many people, I'd never have the time to do anything.