Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot

Parent class: TrojWare

Trojans are malicious programs that perform actions which are not authorized by the user: they delete, block, modify or copy data, and they disrupt the performance of computers or computer networks. Unlike viruses and worms, the threats that fall into this category are unable to make copies of themselves or self-replicate. Trojans are classified according to the type of action they perform on an infected computer.

Class: Trojan-Spy

Trojan-Spy programs are used to spy on a user’s actions (to track data entered by keyboard, make screen shots, retrieve a list of running applications, etc.) The harvested information is then transmitted to the malicious user controlling the Trojan. Email, FTP, the web (including data in a request) and other methods can be used to transmit the data.

Read more

Platform: Win32

Win32 is an API on Windows NT-based operating systems (Windows XP, Windows 7, etc.) that supports execution of 32-bit applications. One of the most widespread programming platforms in the world.

Description

These malicious programs are used to steal the user's credentials for accessing various services, such as online banking. This malware can also allow a cybercriminal to remotely control the infected computer. The first malware of this type appeared in 2006–2007. Since then, many modifications and updates have been made to Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot. The source code was leaked in 2011. Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot used the BlackHole exploit kit and Cutwail and Pushdo botnets to spread. Malware of this family has many features, including: data interception, DNS spoofing, screenshot capture, retrieval of passwords stored in Windows, downloading and execution of files on the user's computer, and attacks on other computers via the Internet. Several widespread modifications of this malware family exist, such as the following:

• ZeuS Citadel ZeuS Citadel has several unique features: active technical support for clients and regular updates until the end of 2012 on a special forum, protection from emulation and debugging (which complicates attempts to detect and analyze the malware), and use of the AES encryption algorithm for generating an RC4 key.
• KINS (also known as: PowerZeus, ZeusVM) This malware first appeared in 2011. A newer version was released two years later, in 2013. The program was used to attack German and Dutch banks. To resist anti-virus analysis, KINS uses steganography (hiding malicious code inside of innocent code) for storing parameters, as well as virtualization.
• P2P Zeus (also known as: Gameover, Murofet) First discovered in 2011, this malware was used to create a botnet of one million infected computers. The program used peer-to-peer networking to send data to cybercriminals' servers, as well as digital signatures for data verification. P2P Zeus was also used to spread CryptoLocker ransomware.

Top 10 countries with most attacked users (% of total attacks)

Read more

Find out the statistics of the vulnerabilities spreading in your region on statistics.securelist.com