According to Trend Micro's Q2 2013 Security Roundup Report, the increased online banking threats and availability of sophisticated, inexpensive malware toolkits has been cited as the growing concerns. The Trend Micro report warns users about the increasing hazards of online banking. The online banking malware saw 29-per cent increase from the previous quarter – from 113,000 to 146,000 infections.
We found an online banking malware that modifies an infected computer’s HOSTS file to redirect a customer of certain banks to phishing sites. We also saw more Citadel variants (detected as ZBOT) targeting different financial service institutions. These malware not only target the big banks but also smaller ones, including those that exclusively cater to online banking customers. As predicted, cybercriminals carried out developments in malware distribution and refinement for existing tools, said Dhanya Thakkar, MD, India & SAARC, Trend Micro.
More online banking threats were seen in different countries this quarter, specifically in Brazil, South Korea, India and Japan. These highlighted the need for increased awareness of online banking security. Cybercriminals also came up with more diverse attacks that used various social engineering lures, single sign-on (SSO) and multiprotocol services, and blogging platforms for their malicious schemes.
The FAKEBANK malware spotted this quarter spoofs legitimate apps which contain specific Android application package files (APKs). Using the APK files, the malware displays icons and a user interface that imitates legitimate banking apps. This technique is reminiscent of PC banking Trojans that monitor users’ browsing behaviours and spoofs banking sites.
As predicted, cybercriminals have not generated completely new threats and instead opted to repackage old ones. The online banking malware volume significantly increased this quarter due in part to the rise in the ZeuS/ZBOT malware volume in the wild. The report also suggested that online banking threats are spreading across the globe and are no longer concentrated in certain regions like Europe and the Americas.
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