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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: energyplay who wrote (46828)	2/25/2009 3:34:26 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 218109

Ironclad against wayo, home to some of the most sophisticated security countermeasures on the planet. Banks have literally figured out how to conduct secure online transactions working under the assumption that 100% of customer machines are infected, says Ollmann. Brazil: birthplace of banking trojans Buzz up!Like this story? Share it with Yahoo! Buzz If you think banking trojans are bad here in the USA, consider Brazil. The latest, greatest banking trojans invariably spawn in Brazil and subsequently spread around the globe. Here’s why: Back in the 1970s and 1980s, hyperinflation and economic chaos led Brazil to streamline its basic system for completing financial transactions. The new system, called Sistema de Pagamentos Brasileiro, or SPB, helped the South American nation restore its transactions infrastructure. But it also accelerated its citizenry’s dependence on online banking. Today 60% of Internet users in Brazil are online banking patrons, versus 23% in the United States, according to Grail Research. What’s more, Brazilians use their debit cards and file electronic tax returns much more than we do. Quite naturally, the best-and-brightest malicious software coders and thieving cyber gangs swarmed Brazil like flies to honey. Brazil has emerged as one of the most hostile online environments in the world; in particular, it has become a hotbed for innovation in banking trojans, says Gunter Ollmann, senior researcher at IBM Internet Security Systems. Brazilian banks have not just stood pat. Brazil is home to some of the most sophisticated security countermeasures on the planet. Banks have literally figured out how to conduct secure online transactions working under the assumption that 100% of customer machines are infected, says Ollmann. But cyber gangs specializing in online bank heists have kept on innovating. Meanwhile, some of their pioneering schemes that no longer work well in Brazil have found their way into underground commodity markets. Banking trojans that were cutting-edge in Brazil two years ago can be purchased today in commodity tool kits with names like "Turkjan Constructor" or "TrojanToWorm Creation Toolkit." So any Joe Blow with average tech aptitude, and a larcenous heart, can become an online John Dillinger. “Off the shelf technology give anyone the ability to create a piece of malware and launch a banking trojan attack,” says Ollmann. “For a few hundred dollars you can purchase a tool kit and create your own customized malware to target a financial institution of your choice.” The toolkits come with everything a novice cyber bank robber needs to carry out a basic attack, including software for spreading viral links in email spam or corrupting trusted web pages. The idea is to slip your banking trojan onto the hard drive of anyone who clicks on that viral email link or tainted web page. By Bryon Acohido Photo: Ollmann (IBM)