Nigerian 419 Fraudsters Evolve to Newer Cyber-Crime Tactics

According to the network security company Palo Alto Networks based in Santa Clara (USA), a Nigerian cyber-criminal gang that executed 419 scams have changed their tactics by targeting businesses within South Korea and Taiwan, employing malware that gave it access and control over the PCs deployed at the victims' sites.

In a report by the security company, it's evident that the Nigerian gang began their new operation with RATs (remote access tools) so it could acquire admission into the victims' computers whether the systems ran Linux/Mac/Windows OS. Palo Alto has given a codename to these assaults viz. 'Silver Spaniel.'

The company's researchers were able to trace a malware attack that associated with Internet Protocol addresses within Nigeria as well as got clue of 419 fraudsters who imbibed the tactics related to employing malware that helped commit theft of data from the hacked entities.

They discovered that the criminals chiefly used two malicious programs namely NetWire and DataScrambler. NetWire gave access to victims' computers remotely through certain graphical interface, while DataScrambler encrypted the RATs thus helping eschew AV detection - here e-mail attachment was used for installing the malware.

Palo Alto observes that although the tools the scammers used were effective there was really bad operational security from these people as their infrastructures along with true personal identities got revealed. The gang's members earlier ran 419 scams that targeted rich people while so tricked them that they gave away their precious money for the sake of the scammers, the company recalls. Securityweek.com published this, July 22, 2014.

Moreover, the members frequently skilled at using socially engineered tactics although unskilled with the malicious software they employed. During the 3-yrs gone by they've started newer assaults utilizing malware as well as learning fresh techniques from hacking forums.

The aim of Silver Spaniel individuals seems to be capturing relevant data, especially passwords with which they can compromise their targets even more.

Whilst the latest cyber-criminal gang isn't quite advanced compared to the top espionage or online-crime cabals globally, Palo Alto is sure it's one emerging threat for enterprises, the security company warns. Theregister.co.uk published this, July 22, 2014.

» SPAMfighter News - 8/1/2014