Majority of New Malware Found to be Banking Trojans
Did you know that the majority of new malware infections are in the form of a banker Trojan, mostly designed to steal online banking login credentials?
Hackers have an infatuation over stealing login details from those who use online banking through the use of banker Trojan infections. Obtaining such credentials usually yields a quick pay-day for hackers when they use this information to commit online banking fraud. This is something that federal agencies have been battling for a long time now in the United States and abroad. The recent discovery that over 60% of new malware threats are considered to be banking Trojans is not good news for those agencies or the victims of cybercrime.
An observation has been made recently by PandaLabs in a statement concluding that the amount of new malware in circulation has continued to increase at record rates. We have also witnessed an exponential increase in the number of reported malware threats this year compared to previous years. Within the first quarter of this year, banking Trojans accounted for about 61 percent of all new malware.
It is possible that the availability of hacker tools or DIY kits designed to allow novice hackers to attack a large number of computers over the internet via a sophisticated botnet has aided in the increase of banking Trojan malware.
A threat researcher at PandaLabs, Sean-Paul Correll, followed up on their discovery by saying, "The growing prevalence of banker Trojans signals to us that online accounts for both consumers and businesses continue to be increasingly attractive financial targets for cybercriminals."
On the flip-side, the arrest and conviction of cybercrooks committing online banking crimes may send a message to those who may choose such a carrier in cyber-crimnal activities. One prime example is the case of a man and woman in Manchester, England arrested for use of the Zeus banking Trojan which was listed as number 1 in the top 10 botnet threats in the United States. Zeus (Zbot) Trojan/Botnet continues to be a threat to online banking institutions and consumers around the world.
How to protect yourself
We suggest that computer users use caution when searching the internet for popular topics or recent news stories. It is also highly advisable to be careful on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter because those are venues that hackers use to spread banker Trojans. Avoid suspicious emails and social network messages that ask for personal information or those that contain attachments.
Has your online banking account ever been hacked into? What do you do to protect yourself?