Yes, this IS going to hurt a bit.
On March 22, cyberthieves penetrated a computer at the Smile Zone dental practice in Springfield, MO, and transferred over $200,000 from the practice’s bank account in 11 different transfers.
The investigation is ongoing, but it appears likely the thieves used an application of ZeuS, Zbot, or SpyEye crimeware to hijack the computer and instigate the wire transfers. “Money mules”, people who knowingly or unknowingly serve as relay stations for money transfers, were also involved in this crime.
Banks reliably deny any liability when their customers’ online banking credentials are stolen or compromised. Unlike consumers, who enjoy legal limitations on cybercrime losses, businesses can only try to reverse the illegal transfers and hope for the best. If the illegal transfers are not undone within the first 24 hours, the likelihood of recovering the stolen money falls dramatically.
In this particular case, the bank only required a user name and password to conduct online banking transactions. That information was, apparently, easily hijacked by the thieves, who then posed as the dental practice and wired the money out.
InterComputer’s Trusted Banking solution is designed expressly to prevent the compromise of electronic identities and communications between banks and their clients, and insure against losses from cybercrime of any kind.
Tags: cybercrime, on-line banking