Report: Most ZeroAccess zombie computers found in U.S.
Marcos Colon
2012-09-20
http://www.scmagazine.com/report-most-zeroaccess-zombie-computers-found-in-us/article/259986/...
According to the SophosLabs report, the two primary tactics used are click fraud, unknowingly clicking on an ad repeatedly to drive up countable hits, and bitcoin mining, a way of stealing virtual currency by using a machine's computational power. These strategies can earn the botnet owners a potential $100,000 each day.
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Researchers have been analyzing ZeroAccess for at least three or four years, Chester Wisniewski, senior security adviser at SophosLabs, told SCMagazine.com on Tuesday. Since the U.S. is one of the richest countries in the world, he believes it's much more likely to be a target.
“Americans have really powerful computers,” Wisniewski said. “When we see malware that's meant to steal banking credentials, [attackers] like to focus on the countries that have the money. If you target Americans, you're going to get a lot more bitcoins.”
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