Security news25 March 2008
China strikes spyware gang of four with hefty jail sentences Hackers used Trojan horse to steal bank account information from unsuspecting users
The hackers have been sentenced to up to eight years in a Chinese jail.
IT security and control firm Sophos has reminded hackers of the consequences of cybercrime, following the announcement that a Chinese court has handed out hefty jail sentences to four men who used a Trojan horse to steal bank account information.
According to media reports, the men stole more than 100,000 yuan (over $14,000) from internet bank accounts after distributing a spyware Trojan horse.
Shanghai's Intermediate People's court sentenced Chen Feng, Yu Li and Zhang Wei to prison for between six and a half to eight years, after finding them guilty of larceny. The men were also fined between 40,000 and 60,000 yuan. A fellow conspirator, Zhao Gang, who drew money out of cash machines, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for hiding illegal income.
The court heard that the men discussed stealing identities with malware to break into online bank accounts in early 2007. In just over a month they stole 127,800 yuan (US $18,000) from the bank accounts of three victims, transferring the money into an account set up by Yu Li, before withdrawing cash at different ATMs.
"Hackers need to think long and hard about whether it's worth the risk before embarking on their life of crime. An eight year jail sentence is one of the toughest we have ever seen in connection with malware. Spending time in a Chinese jail for such a small reward seems an enormously dangerous gamble for cybercriminals to make," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Sadly we are seeing more and more malware emerging from China, much of it designed to steal information from unsuspecting computer users. The advice for consumers and businesses remains to secure their computers with tight defenses."
Sophos recently published its Security Threat Report 2008, which revealed that over half of the world's malware is hosted on webpages based in China:
Sophos recommends companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can control network access and defend against the threats of spam, hackers, spyware and viruses.
Free virus scan
- Free virus, spyware, and adware scan
- Test your existing anti-virus protection
- Find threats your anti-virus missed
About Sophos
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.
