Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

Online Banking Malware Rewrites Your Statements

A very sneaky new malware Trojan virus hides in your computer and actually rewrites your online statements as you watch to hide evidence of theft. This hacking feat hides the evidence long enough for the malefactors to get away with your money.

The new technique was deployed in over 6,000 PCs; the thieves stole over E300,000 in just three weeks. Computer experts are impressed by the sophistication of the malicious software.

Once a victim is infected, the malware grabs the consumer’s log in credentials to their bank account, then contacts a control center hosted on a machine in Ukraine for further instructions. The control center tells the Trojan how much money to wire transfer, and where to send it. To avoid tripping a bank’s automated anti-fraud detectors, the malware will withdraw random amounts, and check to make sure the withdrawal doesn’t exceed the victim’s balance.

The money gets transferred to the legitimate accounts of unsuspecting money mules who’ve been recruited online for work-at-home gigs, never suspecting that the money they’re allowing to flow through their account is being laundered. The mule transfers the money to the crook’s chosen account. The cyber gang Finjan tracked used each mule only twice, to avoid fraud pattern detection.

Computer fraud experts are concerned that the gang could steal millions per year with the malware.

Science fiction fans have had their minds opened to the possibility of thieving hacks in a variety of movies and real-life situations that reflect them; see Teen Hacker Raises Grades Wargames-Style and Gangs Take PINs From Card Readers for examples. Cyber thieves should watch out, however - Cyber-Crime Cops Are Getting Organized.


(Stargate Atlantis cast)

Fans of Stargate Atlantis may be thinking of the occasion when Asuran replicator's base code was altered in the episode "Lifeline".

McKAY: I’ve been going over the Replicators’ base code and I found this. (He turns the screen of his laptop to John.)
DEX: What is that?
McKAY: The Holy Grail. I mean, it’s their whole reason for being. It’s a command code that directs them to attack the Wraith.
SHEPPARD: Yeah, but they don’t attack the Wraith. They’ve been sitting on their nanite asses for ten thousand years.
McKAY: Well, that’s because it’s been deactivated.
SHEPPARD: You’re just noticing this now, huh?
McKAY: This is just one in millions of commands in the base code. Look, I always had a hunch that something like this might be in there, but-but believe me, it was not easy to find.
WEIR: Can you reactivate it?
McKAY: Yes ... but there’s a problem. Look, I can reprogram the nanites in your brain and use that link to upload the changes, but we’ll need to wait for the next merge to affect all the Replicators at once, and we have no idea when that could be. Not only that, but the instant it happens, they’ll know you’re there. They’ll take immediate steps to assimilate you.
SHEPPARD: Then we’re not doing it.
WEIR: John, you know what this could mean. If the Replicators go to war with the Wraith ...
McKAY: Whoa-whoa-whoa. Hang on. There may be another way. There’s a central data core -- it’s kind of like a back-up hard drive for all the Replicators. If I can upload the reactivated attack command directly into that, then we wouldn’t need to use Elizabeth. We could be halfway back to Atlantis when the attack command takes effect at the next merge.

From New Malware Re-Writes Online Bank Statements to Cover Fraud; more about Stargate Atlantis: Lifeline. Thanks to Moira for the tip and references.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/5/2009)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )

Related News Stories - (" Computer ")

Is Agentic AI The Wrong Kind Of Smartness?
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.' - Isaac Asimov, 1975.

Jetson Orin Nano Super 70 Just $249
'Rayno folded up the microterm and tucked it back inside his jumper.' - Bruce Bethke, 1983.

Automatic Bot Traffic Is 38 Percent Of HTTP Requests
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...' - John Brunner, 1975

Neuroplatform Human Brain Organoid Bioprocessor Uses Less Electricity
'Cultured brains on a slab.'- Peter Watts, 1999

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'

Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'

Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'

When Your Child's Best Friend Is An AI
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'

China's Drone Mothership Can Carry 100 Drones
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'

Drones Recharge In Mid-Air Like Jets Refuel!
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'

Australian Authors Reject AI Training Of Llama
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'

Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'

Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.

Is Agentic AI The Wrong Kind Of Smartness?
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'

Heat Waver - The First Ever Combo Solar Collector And Wind Turbine
'...like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'

Tesla 'Fleet Response Agents' Bolster FSD Autonomy
'You hate the whole idea that some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre has got your life... in his hands.'

Mori3 Autonomous Shapeshifting Robot
'My homeland is being threatened by the Replicators. Thus far all attempts to stop them have failed.'

Tesla Seeks 'Tesla Robotaxi' And 'Robobus' Trademarks Ignoring Prior Art
'A robobus had just rolled up to the curb.'

Scary Grid Safety Robots
'The ultimate horror for our paranoid culture...'

Does AI Provide A Way Forward For Talk Therapy
'And there in the next room by the sofa sat a familiar suitcase, that of his psychiatrist Dr. Smile.'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.