Carl Junction R-1 Recovered $80,000 of the Illegal Transfers

According to the statement of Phil Cook, Superintendent of the Carl Junction R-1 School District (Missouri, USA), officials of the Southwest Missouri Bank have recovered at least $80,000 out of a sum of $200,000 that was illegally wired by hackers from the district's bank account, as reported by THEJOPLINGLOBE on March 12, 2009.

The district's computer system was reportedly hit by a virus dubbed "Trojan Dropper" on February 26. A portion of the virus allowed the hackers to access the district's bank account. An amount of nearly $200,000 was wired from that bank account to various banks across the country. Cook noted that some of the amount was then withdrawn.

On March 4, 2009, following the virus-attack, $90,000 was wired from the district's bank account while $106,000 was transferred on the subsequent day. The officials at Southwest Missouri Bank came to know about the transfers on March 6, 2009 and they instantly informed the school district.

According to the security experts, the virus used in the attack was containing a key-logger that allowed hackers to keep a track of the key strokes performed on the compromised system. In this way, hackers were able to recognize the username and passwords when users signed onto the school's system. Further, the virus successfully dodged numerous anti-virus software employed by the school district.

The district informed the neighboring school districts to make them aware of the incident, though no other school district in the state has been reported of the virus-attack. The case has been now been handed over to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation).

Meanwhile, the security experts have revealed that the virus attacks on schools districts are surging rapidly in the USA. In a similar incident that took place in February 2009, 3,500 computers at the Mounds View school district, Minnesota (USA) were infected by a wicked virus, which efficiently shut down a computer and leaves it useless.

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» SPAMfighter News - 3/17/2009