FYI...
Rogueware growth - 2009 ...
- http://www.darkreading.com/shared/pr...leID=218700073
July 29, 2009 - "All told, 374,000 new versions of rogueware samples were released in this year's second quarter - and that number is expected to nearly double to 637,000 in the third quarter. PandaLabs researchers, who have been tracking the spread of this latest trend in cybercrime, say rogueware is easier for the bad guys than traditional banking Trojan attacks... the numbers have been spiking during the past year:
In the fourth quarter of 2008, PandaLabs found more than 50,000 rogueware samples for a total of 92,000 for the year*. "And there were two times as many in Q2 versus Q1," PandaLabs' Carrons says. "Last year, they were using typical malware distribution channels, with links that were trying to distribute the fake AV. In the second quarter of 2009, we had predicted there would be 220,000 samples [of rogueware], but it turned out to be 374,000." But now social networks, such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, are the latest vehicle for spreading rogueware. Attackers hijack user accounts and go after their friends with a video link... These fake antivirus programs alert victims that they are "infected" and lure them to click and clean their machines; when they do, they are prompted to purchase a license for the phony security application... So the bad guys are now automatically generating new, unique samples that AV engines can't recognize, according to the researchers. PandaLabs found in its research two main tiers in the rogueware business model: the creators, who develop the rogue applications and provide back-office services, such as payment gateways, and the affiliates, who distribute the fake AV. Affiliates are mostly Eastern Europeans..."
* http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeuse...rts#Monographs
Following the Money: Rogue Anti-virus Software
- http://voices.washingtonpost.com/sec...rail_of_r.html
July 31, 2009