Ramnit worm goes after Facebook credentials

January 05, 2012, 1:21 PM ? A pervasive worm has expanded its reach to now steal login and password details for Facebook users, warned security vendor Seculert, which found a server holding 45,000 login credentials.

The worm, called Ramnit, infects Windows executables, Microsoft Office and HTML files, according to a profile published by Microsoft. It steals user names, passwords, browser cookies and can also function as a backdoor, allowing a hacker to do other malicious actions on an infected computer.

Researchers from Seculert discovered a command-and-control server for the worm and found that it had harvested some 45,000 credentials from Facebook users, mostly in the U.K. and France, according to its blog.

Aviv Raff, CTO and cofounder of Seculert, said Ramnit's authors may be finding that attacking social networks is a more productive way to collect people's sensitive data.

"We see a growing trend of malware writers embedding social networks in the malware instead of sending the malware itself via email spam," Raff said. "This is the same for Ramnit."

Once the Facebook login and password have been collected, it is suspected that the victim's account is then accessed and a link is posted on their Facebook profile that leads to Ramnit, which will try and infect the computer.

"We suspect that they use these credentials to continuously spread the Ramnit malware through Facebook," Raff said.

Another security vendor, Trusteer, noted last year that Ramnit appeared to have been modified in order to commit financial fraud, acquiring similar capabilities as the famous Zeus and SpyEye malicious software programs.

Ramnit can inject HTML fields into a Web page and ask for information on a banking site that would not normally be asked, Trusteer noted in a blog post on Aug. 22.

Seculert estimates that some 800,000 computers were infected with Ramnit between September through the end of December. A Symantec report from July 2011 put Ramnit as the most common piece of malware it blocked in June and July 2011.

Ramnit's mining of Facebook could yield passwords that people have re-used on other websites, a common mistake that gives hackers an easy in.

"Many users use the same password for Facebook and other organization web services, such as SSL VPN or Outlook Web Access," Raff said. "The attackers may use this to gain remote access to corporate networks. Same goes for their online bank account."

Send news tips and comments to jeremy_kirk@idg.com

Source: http://www.itworld.com/security/238121/ramnit-worm-goes-after-facebook-credentials

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Stocks cheered by growth hopes, debt woes drag euro

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> rose as much as 0.9 percent to its highest in nearly a month, before trimming some gains to stand up 0.6 percent. The materials sector <.miapjmt00pus> outperformed.

The index fell 18 percent in 2011, sharply underperforming Wall Street's S&P 500 <.spx>, which ended the year virtually unchanged, and an 11 percent drop in the FTSEurofirst 300 <.fteu3> index of top European shares.

Japan's Nikkei stock average <.n225> reached a three-week high and was up 1.4 percent, but Hong Kong and Shanghai shares lagged, with lackluster turnover suggesting investors were cautious, refraining from chasing recent gains and taking profits.

"While we are structurally underweight risk, we suggest adopting a more neutral stance in the first two weeks of 2012," analysts at Barclays Capital said in a research note.

"We do not expect higher risk premia because risky assets have sold off to a point where they offer interesting excess returns and because it has become expensive to short risk further unless data consistently surprise on the downside."

European markets were likely to open lower, with financial spreadbetters expecting London's FTSE <.ftse> to start down as much as 0.3 percent, Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> down as much as 0.5 percent and Paris' CAC-40 <.fchi> as much as 0.6 percent lower.

Data released on Tuesday showed U.S. manufacturing grew at its fastest pace in six months in December, while U.S. construction rose to a near 1-1/2-year high in November.

Elsewhere, German unemployment fell sharply to the lowest in two decades, easing concerns that the euro zone debt crisis was putting a drag on global growth. The numbers followed earlier surveys showing Chinese manufacturing and service data topping forecasts and the euro zone's purchasing managers index contracting less than had been feared.

Asian credit markets firmed, with spreads on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment grade index tightening a tad. Positive sentiment may spur an early issuance rush as borrowers seek to take advantage of favourable conditions while they last to meet their 2012 funding needs.

DEBT, ECONOMY DICTATE 2012

The euro eased 0.1 percent to around $1.3035 after posting its biggest one-day rally in nearly two months and reaching a one-week high of $1.3077 the previous day on upbeat data. It hit a 2011 low of $1.2856 on December 29.

The euro also eased 0.1 percent to below 100 yen, but off a trough of 98.71 yen hit on Monday, its lowest since late 2000.

Oil prices slipped but were still largely underpinned by supply disruption concerns as a result of growing tensions between Iran and the West.

Volatility will persist in 2012 given the uncertainty over the course of the euro zone debt crisis and its impact on the global economy, but it will not be as sharp as was in 2011, unless major unforeseen risks to the downside emerge.

"The basic structure is unchanged from 2011, that is, developed countries will be undermined by the euro zone debt crisis and its fallouts while developing countries will manage to spur domestic demand, supporting industrialized countries' exports," said Makoto Noji, senior strategist for SMBC Nikko Securities.

Asian equities may face more downside risks should the euro zone crisis come to a critical point, but that would "set up the potential for renewed outperformance by Asia, led by China, which would have substantial room to ease," brokerage CLSA said.

Analysts say global economic data and European events will continue to drive markets in 2012, and that investors were expected to remain wary of aggressively taking risks throughout the year.

"We expect global economic concerns to begin to dominate as Q1 2012 progresses," Standard Chartered said in a note to clients. This week's highlight is U.S. jobs data due on Friday.

The analysts at Barclays Capital said they would recommend "being structurally short the EUR, underweight currencies that are sensitive to European risks, and tactically going neutral (from underweight) risky currencies during times when risk sentiment temporarily improves."

Risks related to the euro zone debt crisis include progress in Greece's fiscal reforms, Italy's refinancing of about 150 billion euros ($195.8 billion) of government debt in February-April alone and the possibility of sovereign credit rating cuts in key euro zone economies including France.

(Editing by Alex Richardson)

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20120104/stocks-cheered-by-growth-hopes-debt-woes-drag-euro.htm

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