Carberp Code Getting Traded on Illegal Websites; Group-IB

Researchers from Group-IB the cyber-crime investigation company based in Russia warn about the banking Trojan Carberp whose source code is available on secretly operating illegal websites for sale at an extremely compatible price that may actually lead to more of financial malware related to Carberp over the coming period.

Chief of Internationals Projects, Andrey Komarov at Group-IB said that someone understandably belonging to the Carberp team declared via certain illegal website that he was ready for giving away the banker Trojan's source code along with other components of the malware at just $5,000, published computerworld.com this dated June 18, 2013.

The price charged is quite low, given the fact that previously during 2013, the Carberp controllers were giving away the builder program, which could help create the Trojan's customized replicas, at $40,000. There were also available the malware's compiled-to-order samples through models that would have to be subscribed at a per month basis with prices as $2,000-$10,000, according to what number of extra components would be added.

Komarov, who computed Carberp's code value, indicated that it could generally be in the range of $50,000-$70,000.

Reportedly, some 3-yrs back Carberp had first appeared competing with SpyEye and ZeuS Trojans. Hitherto, several arrests have been made wherein Russian cops detained criminals who employed the Carberp Trojan for executing banking fraud over the Internet.

Even then, the gang's key members involved in the malware's actual development have remained unchanged while carrying on with their malicious task, sometimes also sub-contracting the code's portion-wise development.

Group-IB thinks the Carberp syndicate has presently 12-or-so working members, and that majority of them are Russians or Ukrainians with a few living in European Union.

In a comparison of the situation during Carberp code's release vis-à-vis that of ZeuS code's release 2-yrs back, Komarov says that just like there were misunderstandings and contradictions amongst the ZeuS gangsters so has been observed with Carberp's members. It's greatly expected that the Carberp gang may therefore split, with the individuals separating and becoming engaged in other schemes of malicious software creations that possibly would be even stronger banker Trojans, the expert deduces.

» SPAMfighter News - 6/24/2013