[ISN] Security Researchers Uncover 70GB of Financial Data Stolen by Botnet

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Security-Researchers-Uncover-70-GB-of-Financial-Data-Stolen-by-Botnet-501015/

By Brian Prince
eWEEK.com
2009-05-04

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, say they 
seized control of the Torpig botnet for 10 days earlier in 2009 and 
uncovered 70GB worth of financial data, from credit card numbers to bank 
account credentials. Torpig, also known as Mebroot and Sinowal, has been 
called the stealthiest rootkit in the wild by security vendor Prevx.

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, have 
published a paper saying they turned up a treasure trove of stolen data 
after seizing control of a notorious botnet.

The team of researchers hijacked the Torpig botnet, (PDF) which they 
linked to the theft of some 10,000 bank accounts and credit card numbers 
during a 10-day period. According to the researchers, the compromised 
bots were used by cyber-thieves to steal as much as 70GB of data worth 
millions during that time frame.

Torpig, also known as Sinowal and Mebroot, has been dubbed by security 
vendor Prevx the "stealthiest rootkit in the wild today." Just recently, 
the group behind Torpig's proliferation updated the malware to make it 
even harder to detect.

[...]


--
LayerOne 2009, Information Security for the discerning professional. 
May 23-24 2009 @ The Anaheim Marriott in Anaheim, California 
Visit http://layerone.info for more information