Banks must remain vigilant with rising sophistication of cyber threats
Kaspersky Lab unearths new Gauss espionage malware, designed to spy on Lebanese banks’ transactions and operations. November 22, 2012 | Magessan RajKaspersky Lab recently provided details on a cyber-surveillance malware, dubbed “Gauss”. According to Kaspersky’s report, published in August 2012, Gauss is a new cyber threat having most recently targeted users in the Middle East. Far from being your run-of-the-mill malware, the online banking Trojan functionality found in Gauss is a unique characteristic that was not found in any previously known cyber weapon. Such is its level of sophistication, that Gauss is believed to be a nation state sponsored banking “cyber espionage” tool designed to steal sensitive data, with a specific focus on browser passwords, online banking credentials, cookies and specific configurations on infected machines. Gauss was discovered during a campaign to mitigate the risks of cyber weapons, spearheaded by the International Telecommunication Union and backed by Kaspersky Lab, following the emergence of Flame, another advanced malware targeting those in the Middle East. Bearing striking resemblance to the Flame platform, Gauss has also been linked to the Duqu and Stuxnet worms. “After looking at Stuxnet, Duqu and Flame, we can say with a high degree of certainty that Gauss comes from the same ‘factory’ or ‘factories’,” Kasperky Lab reported. Gauss began operations around September 2011 and was only discovered in June 2012, with the malware’s command and control (C&C) servers immediately shut down upon discovery. The malware is currently in a dormant state and waiting for its C&C servers to become active. According to Kaspersky Lab’s analysis of Gauss, the malware was designed to steal data from several Lebanese banks, with victims including Bank of Beirut, EBLF, BlomBank, ByblosBank, and FransaBank, whilst users of Credit Libanais, Citibank and eBay’s PayPal online payment systems were also targeted. Similar to the Stuxnet and Flame viruses, Guass can infect USB drives, but unlike its predecessors, Gauss is capable of “d... Please login to read the complete article. If you already have an account, you can login now or subscribe/register.
Categories: Data & Analytics, Operational Risk & Security, Risk & Performance, Technology & OperationsData & Analytics,OperationalRiskSecurity,Risk & Performance,technology, Data & Analytics,Operational Risk & Security,Risk & Performance,Technology & Operations, Keywords:Kaspersky Lab, Gauss, Flame, Stuxnet, Duqu, Alexander Gostev, Roel Schouwenberg, Banque Du Liban, Ali Nahleh Kaspersky Lab, Gauss, Flame, Stuxnet, Duqu, Alexander Gostev, Roel Schouwenberg, Banque du Liban, Ali Nahleh
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