Researchers Find Botnet Used to Steal Banking Information
Security researchers have discovered a botnet which appeared to control around 100,000 users in the United Kingdom. The cyber criminals running the botnet appear to be based in Eastern Europe and have been using the botnet to carry out financial fraud.
Researchers with Trusteer, a secure browsing service provider, discovered a Zeus version 2 botnet being used to collect banking login credentials, credit and debit card information, bank statements, account balances and other information. The security researchers discovered the extent of the botnet after they infiltrated he botnet’s drop servers and command and control center.
“This is just one out of many Zeus 2 botnets operating all over the world,” said Amit Klein, Trusteer’s chief technology officer. “What is especially worrying is that this botnet doesn’t just stop at user IDs and passwords. By harvesting client side certificates and cookies, the cyber criminals can extract a lot of extra information on the user that can be used to augment their illegal access to those users’ online accounts.”
Trusteer is currently sharing the information it discovered with police authorities in the UK. Around 98 percent of the victims are located in the UK.
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