TECH NEWS
Hackers use pop-ups to steal bank data
Posted Thu, 01 Jul 2004

Hackers have found a way to intercept passwords for banking websites by
infecting pop-up ads with a program that can install itself on computers
and record user keystrokes, security experts said on Wednesday.
The new type of threat was discovered last week by the Internet Storm
Centre of the SANS Institute, a collaborative effort of private security
firms and university researchers.
Storm Centre director Marcus Sachs said hackers apparently infiltrated
advertiser servers and effectively "poisoned" certain pop-up ads to install
a program that reads keystrokes and relays them to a website operated by
hackers.
"The evil part of the scheme is that it has a list of about 50 banks, and
if it detects that your browser is going to that bank... it looks for login
passwords, and intercepts that information before it gets encrypted," Sachs
said.
He said the latest threat is a variant of "spyware" which installs programs
on the computers of those browsing the internet and can sometimes hijack
browsers.
Sachs said the new type of malicious code or "malware" has a different
origin from a threat reported earlier this week involving websites that are
infected, but that the goal of both programs are the same — to steal
banking passwords.
"We think both of these are being done by organised crime," he said.
In both cases, the websites receiving the stolen information have been shut
down by internet administrators, Sachs said.
But the two attacks highlight new risks to transmission of sensitive
financial information on the Internet, experts said.
Tom Liston, a SANS analyst, said he was concerned about the new technique.
"I believe that this particular type of malware represents a huge threat to
the online financial industry," he said in a posting on the SANS website.
"The approach... makes this method of stealing identity information all the
more insidious."
Sachs said that although the websites involved in the stolen data have been
shut down, removing the immediate threat, "that doesn't mean the owners of
that technique can't put it someplace else".
He added that users can be protected by keeping browsers and anti-virus
software updated.
"This is preying on is people not keeping their software up to date," he
said.
Don Rhodes at the American Bankers Association said the Microsoft browser
security update from April should prevent any harm from the latest threat.
"Consumers need to be aware and pay attention to the latest developments
regarding security," he said.
"Every time we hear about a significant new threat, we notify our banks
about it. We may do it this time although we don't know the exact extent of
that particular threat yet."
AFP

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