PC Mag
The Security Service of the Ukraine (SBU), in conjunction with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said Friday that the Ukrainian agency had detained five people of interest in a worldwide cybercrime investigation tied to the "Zeus" bot.
On Thursday, the New York Attorney General charged 37 defendants in 21 different cases. The criminals allegedly used the Zeus trojan to make off with $3 million in stolen funds.
The FBI said Friday, however, that the Zeus cybercriminal ring resulted in the attempted theft of $220 million, with actual losses of $70 million from victims' bank accounts. The FBI's investigation, code-named Operation Trident Breach, began in May 2009 and involved law enforcement agencies from the Ukraine, the Netherlands, and the U.K., among others.
"No one country, no one company, and no one agency can stop cybercrime," said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, in a statement. "The only way to do that is by standing together. For ultimately, we all face the same threat. Together, the FBI and its international partners can and will find better ways to safeguard our systems, minimize these attacks, and stop those who would do us harm."
The FBI did not announce any arrests. However, Ukraine's SBU detained five individuals who were "key subjects responsible for this overarching scheme," the FBI said. Additionally, the SBU served eight search warrants.
The Zeus trojan was actually advertised beginning late in 2009, with an entire YouTube channel devoted to explaining how the malware worked. In March, disconnecting the troyak.org domain in Kazakhstan crippled the Zeus attacks. But one of the popular methods of spreading Zeus has been via a fake LinkedIn email, which loads the Zeus malware via a drive-by download.
On Thursday, the New York Attorney General charged 37 defendants in 21 different cases. The criminals allegedly used the Zeus trojan to make off with $3 million in stolen funds.
The FBI said Friday, however, that the Zeus cybercriminal ring resulted in the attempted theft of $220 million, with actual losses of $70 million from victims' bank accounts. The FBI's investigation, code-named Operation Trident Breach, began in May 2009 and involved law enforcement agencies from the Ukraine, the Netherlands, and the U.K., among others.
"No one country, no one company, and no one agency can stop cybercrime," said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, in a statement. "The only way to do that is by standing together. For ultimately, we all face the same threat. Together, the FBI and its international partners can and will find better ways to safeguard our systems, minimize these attacks, and stop those who would do us harm."
The FBI did not announce any arrests. However, Ukraine's SBU detained five individuals who were "key subjects responsible for this overarching scheme," the FBI said. Additionally, the SBU served eight search warrants.
The Zeus trojan was actually advertised beginning late in 2009, with an entire YouTube channel devoted to explaining how the malware worked. In March, disconnecting the troyak.org domain in Kazakhstan crippled the Zeus attacks. But one of the popular methods of spreading Zeus has been via a fake LinkedIn email, which loads the Zeus malware via a drive-by download.
