Hacker Criminals Steal $70 Million
I am disturbed to find out this week that $70 million was taken using a variant of the “Zeus” trojan. It is good to hear that police nabbed the 5 Ukrainians involved. One stopped, several to go.
The FBI had a statement on this:
“Operation Trident Breach began in May 2009, when FBI agents in Omaha, Nebraska, were alerted to Automated Clearing House(ACH) batch payments to 46 separate bank accounts throughout the United States. Agents quickly realized the scope of the crime and partnered with local, state, and federal partners, cybercrime task forces, working groups, and foreign police agencies in the Netherlands, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom to bring those responsible to justice.”
The crime-ring was larger than the 5. Apparently, foreign students would open bank accounts where the money got laundered to. Dozens across the US and Europe were apprehended for this crime spree.
It really makes you realize how important protecting yourself can be. Remember to make sure your virus programs are up-to-date and you install the latest updates from Windows.
Of course, this is a time where someone can say “Yeah, you should just switch to Mac” (or Linux OS), but reality shows people will stay on Windows for now. The best thing to do is clean and update.