Financial Malware

Cybercrime is, more often than not, a business, and just like any other business, cyber criminals are out to make money, even if it is your money. It's no secret that financial malware is one of the most popular tactics of hackers. Nothing is more frustrating than fraudulent banking activity. If you have never been a victim of fraud, try to imagine your hard-earned money vanishing furiously from your account, unknowingly. The first thought upon discovery is denial: you start second guessing whether the transactions are yours, that is, until you see the location, which is probably from another state or country. The next thought is ""How?"" You are staring at your debit card in your hand, you have never misplaced your online banking login information, never given out your debit card number, and have always made sure to check that your website browser was secure (i.e. https) prior to an online transaction. Next comes the onslaught of excuses and the dreaded phone call to one of your banking representatives to explain that your money is gone, but you haven't spent it. And if you're one for immediate gratification, fraudulent banking will be a major headache, to say the least: you will have to volunteer to actively participate in the investigation, file reports, and answer questions before they can even begin the process of refunding your money. You've played out every possible scenario in your head where you could have been vulnerable, but there's a plausible explanation you probably did not muse over: financial malware.

Financial malware is one of the worst categories out there. The amount of the attacks targeting the financial sector is growing irrepressibly. It seems logical that hackers would target major financial institutions; however, the bulk of malware aimed at the finance sector is en route for its customers, the obvious reason being that the average end user's system is probably less secure than the systems utilized by financial institutions. Here's some insight into how financial malware works, so that you can be on the lookout and alter your habits to prevent being the next victim:

1. Financial Malware Step 1: Hackers create banking Trojans, simply put, a program that may appear to be legitimate, but in fact does something malicious. Trojans are often used to gain backdoor access like remote control of a computer, for instance. The mastermind behind the scenes also creates what is termed his ""Command and Control Center"" in order to manage and control the spread of his new botnet (network of infected computers), issue new commands, and monitor progress. Cyber criminals are smart too. They automatically re-encode their distributed infections quicker than most anti-virus software can recognize and stop the spread.

2. Financial Malware Step 2: The next step is the most crucial: spreading the malware. Let's reiterate: cyber criminals are geniuses-they utilize crafty social engineering technology in order to trick users to install the malware, thus integrating the target operating system into their botnet and under the control of the cyber criminal. Ideally, the malware should not be spread too broadly; wider distribution increases the chances of discovery and insertion into antimalware vendors' signature-recognition files. The most popular form is spam emails (using any message, often appearing to come from a credible source or legitimate organization, to trick users into clicking a link or opening an attachment which downloads the Trojan onto the operating system), but there are several different strategies used, some as advanced as incorporating pop-ups on online banking websites and infecting the user once he simply mouses over the ad! There is an old saying in the security community: ""Dancing monkeys beat security every time""... when presented something entertaining or potentially groundbreaking news, curiosity wins over caution.

3. Financial Malware Step 3: Once infected, attackers can obtain login information and other user credentials, but the main goal is to piggyback on active online banking sessions and initiate fraudulent transactions. Once user information is compromised, cyber criminals transfer money into different accounts they have access too. However, taking the money and running is not as simple as walking into the bank and performing withdrawal; banking institutions are too smart for that, and cyber criminals would not last very long. That's why they have several of what are called ""mules"" or middlemen, whose task it is to withdraw money and pass it on to the cyber criminal (probably naively, for compensation), obscuring the identity of the true thief.

People who truly value their money should never get complacent with its security. Part of the burden falls on financial institutions, as it will be increasingly important for banks worldwide to cooperate more closely in order to trace fraud through growing layers of mules. It is also the responsibility of software vendors to ensure that processes for software updates are fluent so that users are running the latest versions. But most importantly, end users should never wait until financial malware disaster strikes to seek protection. Security products should be installed and updated as quickly as possible. Outdated antivirus software has little value! Behavioral changes can also come in handy when it comes to preventing financial malware; this is a matter for which increased skepticism is actually okay. If at all possible, use an entirely different computer for online banking. Make sure your passwords are strong. Do not store login information where it may be accessible. Call financial institutions to verify the validity of dubious messages. Join the effort against financial malware. Force cyber criminals to make their own money, and not take yours, by investing in the protection of your finances.