Viruses Created & Sold as Products on the Internet

According to cyber security firm RSA, internet is a mass host to services that make and sell computer viruses in the form of products, as reported by darkreading on October 8, 2008.

Furthermore, these viruses come with support and warranties, and are the creations of professional groups that were possibly formed by collapse of large spy organizations in Eastern Europe.

RSA further states that the quality of these virus products for sale is quite high, while their money value is affordable amounting to a few hundred dollars. In fact, they are cheaper than a number of safe software products.

The RSA report also disclosed that the problem for the purchaser is that he/she has to device and handle the delivery operation, which is not at all easy. However, the cyber criminals are intensifying the problem with software as a service. This offers services to enterprise bot networks to distribute the malicious virus products or do other vicious tasks.

Similarly, a Trojan horse used by an increasing number of scammers can add fields for data entry to genuine internet banking sites as well as lure users to reveal their sensitive information like PINs and bank card details.

Additionally, these malicious programs are integrated into the Web browser through the technique of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) injection. Also, the fine integration allows these malwares to operate even when the user surfs the actual banking Website as well as to change its layout.

Moreover, according to RSA, financial information and banks are not the only targets of cyber-criminals nowadays, high-level business officials are also being attacked so that criminals can use their usernames and passwords for anything ranging from accessing data to penetrating business financial systems to making trading investments.

The company additionally warns that lack of strong monitoring systems and continuous reminders to workforce to be vigilant of phishing operations targeting their credentials could expose the firms.

Finally, as the con artists become more sophisticated, fake bank sites are getting harder to distinguish from real ones; thus, calling for greater vigilance.

Related article: Viruses Pose Biggest Threat to Asian Companies

» SPAMfighter News - 17-10-2008

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