Sinowal Trojan found to have stolen 300,000 bank log-ins
By Mike Ferro
In a recent report revealed by the RSA, the Sinowal Trojan, also know as Torpig and Mebroot, was found to have stolen roughly 300,000 bank log-ins, since 2006. The Sinowal Trojan has also stolen credit card and debit card account numbers as well. The RSA report indicates just how effective this Trojan is.
According to RSA FraudAction Research Lab, the Sinowal Trojan is the most advanced of its kind. The RSA indicated that it is very rare to find a Trojan that has been active for several years, like the Sinowal. This crimeware is said to utilize a highly complex infrastructure for archiving and transmitting the stolen bank data.
The crimeware uses HTML injections and cannot be detected by conventional anti-malware programs. The creator of the Sinowal Trojan also released multiple variants of the crimeware throughout the years. The meticulous dedication of the creator is shocking as the study shows a steady stream of variants since 2006.
The Sinowal Trojan is activated when it detects one of 2,700 URLs. Most of the URLs were financial institutions and banks. The creator has also registered thousands of Internet domains for the crimeware’s communication purpose.
The malware is reported to have infected users all across the globe. Bank accounts have been stolen from Asia, Europe and North America. However, it is interesting to note that the only major country not affected by the malware is Russia.
According to the report, the Sinowal Trojan experienced an enormous spike in activity recently. Apparently, the crimeware managed to steal over 100,000 bank related information just within six months.
The spike may be due to an improvement in the transportation method of the malware. The main method of infection seems to be that from fraudulent downloads.
Users should take every precaution when downloading applications even from reputable sites such as CNet or Softpedia. If the application looks a little shoddy, think twice before installing it onto your PC.
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