Of Money Mules and Cyber Criminals
A new article by Roel Schouwenberg, Senior Antivirus Researcher at the Kaspersky Lab, has drawn attention to the increased use of malware in cyber attacks on financial institutions.
The Russian researcher explains the methods used – from social engineering to phishing and Trojan Downloaders – which show that the trend seems to be away from universal attacks and towards malware aimed at specific banks in specific regions, the ideal target being a bank with a large customer base and lax security. "Many banks which use single-factor authentication are vulnerable to relatively simple attacks," writes Schouwenberg.
Although the number of malicious emails is declining, the preferred method of attack is via the Internet for a number of reasons. Whereas malware sent by email is easily detected, a malicious program sent via the web will infect the web server, which means it can be modified easily by the cyber criminals, making it almost impossible for antivirus researchers to analyze, "...so a drive-by download using exploits is obviously an attractive method" the researcher warns. Phishing attacks are still popular, with too many users not fully understanding how the scam works.
Accessing stolen funds is another aspect of cyber crimes examined by the researcher. This is where the money mule, often recruited via seemingly legitimate job offers, comes into play. The mule makes their bank account available for transactions and then, with services like Moneygram or E-Gold, transfers 85-90 percent of the money. Criminals will often use several mules simultaneously, keeping transactions small and thereby avoiding attention. The complete article can be read at: http://www.viruslist.com/en/analysis?pubid=204792037/
Issue 268/2023
Buy this issue as a PDF
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
The Next Major Release of Elementary OS has Arrived
It's been over a year since the developers of elementary OS released version 6.1 (Jólnir) but they've finally made their latest release (Horus) available with a renewed focus on the user.
-
KDE Plasma 5.27 Beta is Ready for Testing
The latest beta iteration of the KDE Plasma desktop is now available and includes some important additions and fixes.
-
Netrunner OS 23 Is Now Available
The latest version of this Linux distribution is now based on Debian Bullseye and is ready for installation and finally hits the KDE 5.20 branch of the desktop.
-
New Linux Distribution Built for Gamers
With a Gnome desktop that offers different layouts and a custom kernel, PikaOS is a great option for gamers of all types.
-
System76 Beefs Up Popular Pangolin Laptop
The darling of open-source-powered laptops and desktops will soon drop a new AMD Ryzen 7-powered version of their popular Pangolin laptop.
-
Nobara Project Is a Modified Version of Fedora with User-Friendly Fixes
If you're looking for a version of Fedora that includes third-party and proprietary packages, look no further than the Nobara Project.
-
Gnome 44 Now Has a Release Date
Gnome 44 will be officially released on March 22, 2023.
-
Nitrux 2.6 Available with Kernel 6.1 and a Major Change
The developers of Nitrux have officially released version 2.6 of their Linux distribution with plenty of new features to excite users.
-
Vanilla OS Initial Release Is Now Available
A stock GNOME experience with on-demand immutability finally sees its first production release.
-
Critical Linux Vulnerability Found to Impact SMB Servers
A Linux vulnerability with a CVSS score of 10 has been found to affect SMB servers and can lead to remote code execution.