A new virus called OddJobs has found a way to hack into users bank accounts, committing fraud and stealing money.
Running a good anti-virus program and logging out of sessions with your bank just make good sense. Anyone working in the Finance industry will tell you that keeping your browser secure and logging out of every session is the best way to protect your account from online theives. But, what if that isn't good enough to protect your account and your money?
A new report from PC World reports that there is a new Trojan on the scene that is looking pretty scarey for banking software. This malware has the ability to hijack customers' online banking sessions using their session ID tokens. Basically, it keeps the session open, even after the user believes that they have logged out. The Trojan is called OddJobs, and the worst part is, it doesn't leave a trace.
It works by infecting the browser itself and it intercepts both inbound and outbound traffic during the browser session. Once a user logs into their bank, it can replicate the bank webpages to display a logout screen, when they haven't actually logged out.
The problem with these types of Malware is that they are extremely sophisticated. It makes good financial sense for those willing to commit this type of fraud to invest a great deal of money to create new ways to avoid detection and commit their crimes. When you think about it, from the cyber-criminal's point of view, this is their primary investment and with it, they stand to steal a great deal of money.
Once anti-virus and computer security companies become aware of the problem, they can take steps to block and remove it. Because they have to react to new threats rather than being able to anticipate them, a window forms that allows the threat to spread and find victims. Finding ways to expand that window is extremely lucrative to hackers.
For now though, the computer security companies are aware of the threat and have taken steps to block it. Be sure to update your anti-virus software and any other security programs you run to make sure that you don't get attacked by this Trojan.
Have you ever had your bank account infected with a virus or hacked by malware? Let me know in the comments.
By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for FinancialJobBank. Along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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