Microsoft Offers $250K to Catch Worm Creators

Koobface Gang not bothering to hide their identities, location

(NEWSER) - You might think a cabal of cyber criminals who'd ripped off 400,000 to 800,000 Facebook users would be on the run and living deep underground. You'd be wrong. The so-called "Koobface Gang," makers of a Facebook worm that's done just that, is living large in St. Petersburg, Russia, the New York Times reports, and not only aren't they bothering to hide their identities, they regularly broadcast the location of their offices by checking in on Foursquare. More»

Group allegedly used virus to steal passwords

(NEWSER) - More than 60 people have been arrested in connection with an alleged global scheme to steal US bank accounts with computer viruses. Court documents allege that Eastern European hackers used a virus called the Zeus Trojan to access bank data for several US small to mid-size businesses and municipalities, the Wall Street Journal reports. Nineteen people were arrested in London Tuesday on related charges as well. More»

Sophisticated attack targeted health, tech firms in 196 countries

(NEWSER) - One of the largest cyberattacks ever discovered has hit more than 75,000 computers worldwide, targeting email, credit card information, corporate data and logins at health and tech companies in 196 countries. The attack, originating from a crime ring based in Eastern Europe, shows that criminal groups are becoming as sophisticated in their cyberattacks as nation states such as China and Russia, the Washington Post reports. More»

Program performs well in stress test

(NEWSER) - Want a great, free antivirus program from a big software brand? OK, it’s from Microsoft, and … wait! Come back! Believe it or not, Microsoft’s new Security Essentials software is pretty darn good. AV-Test.org ran it through a bevy of tests and found the freebie performed admirably. In its first outing, it nabbed all 3,700 viruses, Trojans, and worms that testers threw at it. More»

(NEWSER) - An April Fools information apocalypse did not occur, but the widespread Conficker virus that caused so much fear of is still out there, CNN reports. Experts are puzzled over the lack of an attack, but the sheer size of the Conficker infection—5 million computers—yields a clue. “The more experienced attackers don’t let their viruses or their worms spread this widely,” one says. More»