Smarter Malware is on the Rise
After a two-year investigation known as Operation Ghost, a group of Eastern European cyber thieves was caught by the FBI, according to an article by ABC News. The story is yet another reminder of some of the problems with global Internet security and the need to get professional virus removal. The group used a complex scheme that even infiltrated the computers of U.S. government agencies, which shows how susceptible Internet security can be even at the governmental level.
The group made $14 million in “illegitimate income” before the FBI put an end to the scheme, according to ABC News. The group infected over four million computers with malware that played an essential role in their advertising scheme. The seven hackers known as the Rove group compromised the Internet security of users and targeted sites like iTunes, Netflix and even the IRS, reports ABC News.
The malware that they used to infect the compromised computers sheds light on a serious Internet security and virus removal problem. According to the article, the malware prevented users from installing virus removal programs that could potentially defuse it. This is an example of an emerging challenge to virus removal programs, as it marks an increases level of stealth and sophistication on the part of malware. Not only are hackers writing malware to breach Internet security, but they are also programming it to strongly resist virus removal efforts. In other words, malware is becoming more conscious of the fact that it is malware, making basic virus removal much more difficult for the average user.
The hackers allegedly partnered with a variety of Internet advertisers to enact a scheme based on targeting users’ Internet security to generate profits, reports ABC News. Advertisers paid the hackers to generate traffic to certain advertisements and websites. They did this by using the malware that they designed to redirect casual Internet users to advertisement websites. By doing so, the hackers increased click results and generated profit from their partner advertisers.
This story also shows that threats to Internet security go beyond the programming level and into the field of international organized crime. Hackers frequently operate internationally, breaching users’ Internet security in one continent while operating in another.
The fact that a group of seven hackers made approximately $14 million dollars by spreading malware is a scary reminder that the incentives to target Internet security is real and, for many, great. That is all the more reason to make every effort to protect our Internet security.
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Filed under: Fraud, Internet Security, phishing, rescuecom, virus