Small Businesses Most Vulnerable to Banker Trojans

Think Security First, the national awareness and education program set up to protect small business in the US, warned small businesses to be vigilant of increasing sophistication and rising volume of cyber threats, which could pose a serious risk to the financial viability of the exploited businesses. The aforementioned alert was issued on September 23, 2009.

Likewise, just sometime back, law enforcement and financial institutions in Europe and US warned that attacks targeted at small businesses by highly organized cyber gangs increased sharply.

Generally, these attacks first hijack and then drain off user's business accounts by making use of passwords and log-in details stolen by installing sophisticated banking trojans on their systems.

These trojans allow cyber thieves to immediately desert the victim's business accounts even before being identified, thereby leaving less or no alternative for the business. It is learnt that business accounts don't enjoy the same zero liability protection as consumer accounts. So, such victims are seldom compensated by banks.

Such attacks have therefore become more critical and dangerous, and hence need urgent vigilance and action as they cause huge losses to small businesses to recover from.

Neal O'Farrell, founder of Think Security First, stated that this is a new attack tactic devised against small businesses, and is the most severe security threat in a decade, as per the news published by eMediaWire on September 23, 2009.
He further said that Banker trojans may prove a silent killer for numerous small businesses as they are difficult to detect and prevent, and can speedily drain off the only funds of small businesses.

Meanwhile, according to the recent reports, it has been identified that one third of small businesses are running without even the basic virus protection installed on their systems, and more than 50% don't even bother to provide any sort of security awareness training to their employees. Security experts warned that such an attitude of small businesses towards security issues open doors for Trojans, and various other exploits.

Security experts, therefore suggest that strong malware protection, smart security practices, and regular user awareness and vigilance are the key to prevent risks. And, the businesses don't having these fundamental defense techniques are leaving themselves and their customers highly exposed to increasingly sophisticated cybercrime.

Related article: Small Organizations Too Can Be Hackers’ Target

» SPAMfighter News - 10/14/2009