The Zeus banking Trojan could be a useful tool in corporate espionage…
Zeus typically steals online banking credentials and then uses that information to move money out of internet accounts. In the past year, however, Gary Warner, director of research in computer forensics with the University of Alabama, who has been closely monitoring the various criminal groups that use Zeus, has seen some hackers also try to figure out what companies their victims work for…
“They want to know where you work,” he said. “Your computer may be worth exploring more deeply because it may provide a gateway to the organisation.”
That’s worrying because Zeus could be a very powerful tool for stealing corporate secrets. It lets the criminals remotely control their victims’ computers, scanning files and logging passwords and keystrokes. With Zeus, hackers can even tunnel through their victim’s computer to break into corporate systems. (more)
Back in 2007, when the Dutch government announced that all 7 million homes in the Netherlands would be equipped with smart meters by 2013, it anticipated little resistance. After all, who wouldnāt welcome a device that could save both energy and money? But consumers worried that such intelligent monitoring devices, which transmit power-usage information to the utility as frequently as every 15 minutes, would make them vulnerable to thieves, annoying marketers, and police investigations. They spoke out so strongly against these āespionage metersā that the government made them optional…
Of more than 9000 consumers polled in 17 countries, about one-third said they would be discouraged from using energy-management programs, such as smart metering, if it gave utilities greater access to data about their personal energy use…
It all sounds less paranoid when you consider that each applianceāthe refrigerator, kettle, toaster, washing machineāhas its own energy fingerprint, or āappliance load signature,ā that a smart meter can read. Anyone who gets hold of this data gets a glimpse of exactly what appliances you use and how often you use them. (more)
