By Peter Griffiths 50 minutes ago
LONDON (Reuters) -
Cyber-criminals are behind a dramatic
rise in stealthy programs called "trojans" that infect
computers to sell rogue software, send unwanted email or steal
personal data, a study has found.
In a report released in London, Microsoft said the number
of trojans removed from computers around the world in the
second half of 2007 rose by 300 percent from the first half.
The figure has risen so sharply because more computers are
fitted with software that detects malicious programs and
because criminals had come to see trojans as their "tool of
choice," the report said.
"The numbers have simply exploded, it's huge," said Vinny
Gullotto, general manager of the Microsoft Malware Protection
Center. "There is a lot of criminal intent there."
Trojans can log keystrokes to gather passwords, send spam
from private computers or harvest email addresses or personal
information for criminal purposes.
The most common family of trojans last year was
"Win32/Zlob," a piece of malicious software, or malware, that
people unwittingly download from the Internet.
Its designers trick people into saving it by telling them
they need a new piece of software to watch video online.
Once installed, it bombards people with pop-up messages and
bogus flashing warnings that their computer is infected.
The messages say: "Your computer is infected! Windows has
detected spyware infection. Click here to protect your
computer."
The trojan then sends adverts offering to sell rogue
anti-spyware on sites that could expose customers to credit
card fraud. Microsoft said the problem is global and linked to
organized criminal gangs.
"The majority (of trojans) come from the (United) States,
China, Russia and South America," Gullotto said on the fringes
of the Infosecurity Europe trade conference on Tuesday.
Microsoft said the number of computers around the world
that were made safe after being infected with trojans rose from
one million in the second half of 2006 to 19 million in the
second half of 2007.
The report is online:
http://www.microsoft/security/portal/sir.aspx
(Editing by Steve Addison and Paul Casciato)
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