The couple are said to have helped companies spy on their
competitors.
Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global
network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have reminded
companies of the importance of properly protecting their networks
from spyware following the latest developments in an international
corporate espionage investigation. A married couple alleged to have
developed a Trojan horse that helped companies spy on their
competitors was indicted this weekend in the Tel Aviv District
court for a series of computer crimes.
Ruth Brier-Haephrati, 28, and her 44-year-old husband Michael
Haephrati, were extradited from London in January, and are said by
prosecuting attorney Haim Wismonsky to have confessed to most of
the charges against them.
According to the indictment, the couple were managers of the
firm Target-Eya. Michael Haephrati developed the spyware Trojan
horse, while his wife, Ruth, marketed it to several private
investigators who bought the code and installed it onto the
computers of its clients' rivals.
"This case sends out a strong message around the world that the
menace of spyware is growing, and that companies need to realise
that it's not just home users who are at risk. Organized criminals
are hell bent on stealing information and making a profit at the
expense of big business," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "Every company needs
multi-layered security in place to best defend against the growing
threat of spyware."
Ruth Brier-Haephrati has been formally charged with aggravated
fraud, unlawful computer access, virus insertion, installing
tapping equipment, invasion of privacy, managing an unlawful
database, and conspiracy to commit a crime. Michael Haephrati is
charged with lesser offenses of assisting his wife in these
activities.
The Trojan horse is said to have been used by private
investigators to spy on the Rani Rahav PR agency (whose clients
include Israel's second biggest mobile phone operator, Partner
Communications), and the HOT cable television group. Another
alleged victim was Champion Motors, who import Audi and Volkswagen
motor vehicles.
The Haephratis are also accused of spying on the computers of
Amnon Jacont and Varda Raziel-Jacont, sections of whose book
mysteriously appeared on the internet before it was published.
Varda Raziel-Jacont is the father of Michael Haephrati's former
wife, Natalia.
Prosecutors have asked the court to keep Ruth Brier-Haephrati
and Michael Haephrati in custody until the conclusion of the
trial.
Companies are recommended to protect their email with a consolidated solution to thwart the virus, spyware
and spam threats and secure their desktops and servers with
automatically updated anti-virus protection.
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.