The Trojan Wars
It has quite some time since I last posted. Not for lack of interest but rather I've been too busy with all of the things that fill normal day-to-day life. Then I read a story that I felt deserved to be shared. In some ways it hearkened back to earlier posts on the self-aware evil networks of SkyNet or the various episodes of cybercrime. The story was about the Kill Zeus feature of Spy Eye Toolkit.
Kill Zeus is new functionality within a Trojan Horse program that not only has the data theft characteristics of many malware programs but also has its sights on another Trojan. It's goal, displace its larger competitor, Zeus. With Kill Zeus enabled, the Zeus program is removed leaving Spy Eye to gather sensitive PC owner info alone.
Both Zeus and Spy Eye are toolkits designed to make the creation of a Botnet user friendly. According to the FBI, these two programs have already been responsible for over $100 million in losses primarily by stealing online banking account information and moving funds out of accounts and offshore.
This is a fascinating story of the adaptability of crime networks to the new digital reality. This is like an old time Mafia squabble over who controls a particular region. The Spy Eye criminals knew the Zeus program was making good money so they decided to muscle in. Think Capone and alcohol in Prohibition-era Chicago. (it is also a striking cautionary tale on the level of security we all apply to our online banking activities).
The real question is, when will the Trojan itself decide the criminals are unnecessary middlemen?
According to reports, Spy Eye sells for approximately $500 on the digital black market. Any budding entrepreneurs out there? I sure hope not.
You can read more from Symantec here.
The nostalgic idea of walking in to the bank to manage your account is beginning to sound good.
Warren
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