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Sophos has been certified to detect 100% of
spyware in tests by West Coast Labs
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Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global
network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have advised
computer users to ensure their anti-virus products can also protect
against spyware after the reported theft of 9.4 million yen from
nine Japanese bank accounts.
According to media
reports, a total of 9.4 million yen (approximately $84,000) has
been illegally withdrawn from nine accounts at three different
banks, because of a spyware infection.
Terunobu Maeda, chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association and
president and CEO of Mizuho Financial Group, said that the banks
concerned were Mizuho Bank, eBank Corp and Japan Net Bank.
According to Maeda the banks will assist the computer crime
authorities in their investigations, but it will be up to each
individual bank as to whether and how victims will be
compensated.
"With so much spyware being written today which targets internet
bank account customers it's essential that everyone ensures they
have proper protection in place," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "Every day we see more attempts
to spy on innnocent users by organised criminal gangs focused on
stealing money. Banks are especially anxious that users do not lose
faith in using the internet to access their accounts because it is
a cheaper and more flexible way for them to do business with their
customers."
It is unclear from the reports precisely which spyware assisted
the theft from the bank accounts, or how it operated, but many
spyware Trojans and worms can monitor users as they enter online
bank accounts and steal passwords and login information.
Protection from spyware is now an integral feature of Sophos's
anti-virus applications and is detected in the same way as viruses,
Trojans and worms. Sophos Anti-Virus is 100% Checkmark
certified for spyware detection.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.