SMB organizations vulnerable to Zeus Malware

We’re seeing a resurgence in the number of the Zeus/ZBot data stealing malware infections. Zeus is a trojan horse malware that is spread through phishing schemes and drive-by downloads. There has also been a surge in infections linked to fake Facebook links. Zeus has been reformulated with a number of new features and is technically more advanced that previous versions.

Small and Medium Businesses are a juicy target for cyber criminals because they generally lack the security protocols that larger companies have in place.

How does it work?
The victim receives a legitimate looking email from their recognized financial institution. The email contains a link that requires him or her to enter the company’s banking information including user name and password. This type of information in the hands of cyber criminals is used to quickly transfer large amounts of money. Another version of Zeus is a malware that infects the user’s computer and monitors for banking relating transactions.

What can a SMB do to protect against Zeus?
1.    Limit the number of people with access to sensitive banking information
2.    Train employees about the danger of cyber-attack and how to detect malicious activities
3.    Actively scan for malware using malware scanning technologies
4.    Consider designating a highly secured machine for online banking alone
5.    As with other online security, select a financial institution which offers two-step verification

Tags: Anti-Virus, Cyber Crime, Malware, malware scanning