Half of Chinese Malware Targets Passwords
22 Nov, 2006, 5:01 pm IST |
Sharon Khare
| 
|
Security firm Sophos has revealed that over half of all malware originating in China in October was designed to steal usernames and passwords. This malicious code is designed to give cyber criminals easy access to personal and sensitive data for financial gain and identity theft. By analysing the malware, which was written in a simplified version of Chinese, Sophos says that it has identified that 45.2% aimed to steal online game login information, with a further 7.5% designed to provide the hackers with username and password details for the popular Chinese QQ instant messaging client. "Given the ever growing popularity of online gaming in China, this is a worrying trend - once hackers have stolen login details, they can effectively impersonate the victim in the online world," explained Carole Theriault, senior security consultant for Sophos. "Millions of people play these games every day, but once inside the game, it's difficult to check their identity and these cyber criminals can wreak havoc, for example buying and selling items in online stores and running up huge debts without the victim even realising." Furthermore, with a significant proportion of the remaining malware designed to give hackers access to instant messaging clients, Sophos is warning computer users of the risks of using the same password across multiple sites and of the importance of using secure passwords. "While hacking into an instant messaging client may not seem like the end of the world, the danger is that the cyber criminals will have inadvertently gained access to bank accounts, or cracked the passwords to secure password protected information, from which they can steal confidential and financial information," concluded Theriault. |
Tags: malware
Mixx
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
delicious
reddit
MySpace
StumbleUpon
LinkedIn
McAfee software bug could turn customers' PCs into spam servers
Anti-virus software maker McAfee warned that a flaw in one of its products could make customers' PCs vulnerable to attacks in which hackers used their ...
Chrome Beta loads web pages before user completes URL
Android more vulnerable to malware than iOS
Survey blames social media for increasing malware
Trend Micro reports 1410 percent rise in Android malware
New report finds Android, Symbian are malware favourites
New Android Malware is a Google+ Look-alike
Leaked Images, Availability, Pricing,
Specs, Pre-order
5 free operating systems that aren't Linux
The war of operating systems started decades ago, and the first mainstream
It's a great time to be a family
Microsoft has unveiled its first ever global, multi-product advertising...
By Advertorial
In a sea of operating systems with Windows 7, the upcoming Windows 8 and...
How to: Convert any surface into a touchscreen with a Wiimote
Rhishikesh Bhagwat
Thu Feb 16, 03:38:23
Rahul Mukherjee
Wed Feb 15, 22:19:14
Top smartphones under Rs.10,000
Pintu Patel
Wed Feb 15, 20:14:09
More from Windows
More from this Author
_011517074205_160x90.jpg "Epson Stylus Photo R3000")
Gigabyte readying affordable dual SIM...
HTC rumoured to be working on a streaming...
Authorities seize iPads over trademark...
iPad sales to surpass PCs, believes Apple...
About Us | Site Profile | Tech2 Team | IBNLive News | IBNLive Hindi News | Cricket News | Indian Stock Market | Policy | T & C
Copyright © 2011, Tech2.com India - A Network 18 India Venture
