Targeted malicious attacks worth US$1.3bn to cyber criminals

Cyber criminals are shifting their stratagem away from mass spam attacks to more targeted, malicious-style attacks, such as spearphishing. Cisco estimates the overall cost of targeted attacks to organisations worldwide is US$1.29bn annually. A new report by Cisco suggests cyber criminals have made a fundamental shift in strategy, abandoning traditional mass spam attacks in favour of personalised attacks with a greater financial impact on targeted organisations. John Kennedy reports on SiliconRepublic.

Cleveland Police hit by Conficker infection

The North of England police force’s main systems had to be taken offline for three days after becoming infected, Cleveland Police told ZDNet UK in response to a Freedom of Information request. A Cleveland Police spokeswoman told ZDNet on Wednesday that the infection was from a Conficker variant. Conficker is a pernicious network worm that targets flaws in Microsoft software and can spread via a number of methods, including infected USB drives and dictionary attacks on passwords over a network.

$72M Scareware Ring Used Conficker Worm

Authorities seized computers and servers in the United States and seven other countries this week as part of an ongoing investigation of a hacking gang that stole $72 million by tricking people into buying fake anti-virus products. Police in Ukraine said the thieves fleeced unsuspecting consumers with the help of the infamous Conficker worm, although it remains unclear how big a role the fast-spreading worm played in this crime. Full article on Krebs On Security.

ESET has more on Conficker protection here.