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Russian Bugs Bust French Internet Users
John Stith
Staff Writer
2006-02-08
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Computer criminals from Russia lifted more than €1 million from French bank accounts using what some call sleeper bugs to infect computers. The little bug was quick and dirty when some customers got hit for as much as €40,000 in a fell swoop.
The Guardian picked up on this story from their French bureau. In it, the police say the virus was transferred through common methods like websites or emails. Then the virus lays in waiting until someone contacts their bank online. The virus records all the information. Then they set up accounts through third party group's links. This allows them to pass the money through. These third party groups get a commission around 5% or 10%.
The Guardian article said arrests were made in both Moscow and St. Petersburg. Police nabbed a dozen or so people of varying ages as well as several Ukrainian chiefs behind the operation.
Apparently, the operation was noticed back in November 2004 and was monitored for about the next year. During that time, the thieves heisted more than €1 million.
Once again, this comes down to user savvy and keeping the antivirus products updated. In most cases, if people keep their security software updated, events like this don't happen.
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About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
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