Researchers Predict Malicious Spam Levels Will Rise
Written by Sue Walsh on June 15, 2011
Security researchers predict that malicious spam levels will rise now that bot herders are repopulating their networks. Spam levels went down when Microsoft and the FBI knocked Rustock out of commission but those levels have begun to rise again. As was to be expected, there are other botnets out there ready to take Rustock’s place. According to the report:
“Many botnets are in position to fill the gap left by Rustock’s decline [...] Aside from sending spam, botnets can control a variety of cybercrime — such as denial-of-service attacks, malware distribution and installation, and hosting phishing sites. Thus the information security community must remain vigilant.”
Zeus remains the most popular malware distributed by spam and other Trojans based on the Spy Eye kit. This type of malware is designed to steal banking and other financial info through the use of keyloggers and other nasty tools. The spam they distribute themselves through brandjacks several popular companies such as UPS, the United States Postal Service and DHL. The IRS has also been a target.
SpyEye is a pretty powerful tool for cybercrooks. It allows them to create malware that spreads via USB drives, chat rooms, and IMs. Also, email enabled them to easily capture credit card numbers, spoof HTTP and HTTPS content, launch DDoS attacks and even steal Firefox certificates. The anti-virus and security software companies have their hands full with this one!
It remains to be seen just who will replace Rustock as the king of the hill but rest assured someone will. Shutting down botnets is a great thing, but for now it’s still just a temporary fix.
Loading ...
So what’s the best way to analyze whether or not your system is compromised by SpyEye or similar programs?
It was only a matter of time before new botnets took Rustock’s place, but hopefully with the more we learn about them, the less time it will take to track and bring down these nuisances.
The next Rustoc is / are in the works. I’ve read another article here, also written by Sue – it says Russia was implicated by Microsoft as the source of Rustoc.
In this regard, the next Rustoc will again come from Russia. Some experts and analysts said this one will more powerful and malicious than its predecessor, which will then cause spam levels to rise AGAIN.