A sophisticated cyber crime ring has been broken up. This graphic shows how it worked.
Notwithstanding the recent wave of politically inspired cyber attacks against and in aid of the Wikileaks whistleblowing website, financial gain remains the normal motivator for cyber crime.
Earlier this year a major cyber crime network was shut down. Using a Trojan horse virus known as Zeus hackers in Eastern Europe infected computers around the world and attempted to steal $220m.
Authorities across the US, UK, Ukraine and the Netherlands rallied together and arrested 10 suspected hackers (mostly teenagers). The suspects were charged with using false bank details to withdraw $3m from the victims accounts.
Using a Trojan horse known as Zeus, hackers infected computers. The virus was carried in emails, and when a target opened the email, malicious software installed itself on the victims computer, secretly capturing passwords, bank account numbers and other data.
The hackers used this information to transfer thousands of dollars often routing the funds through money mules, who could smuggle the cash out of a country. For their work they were paid a commission.
The infographic shows you how the cyber crime worked.
You might also like:
Analysis: Exploring the mind of a cyber criminal
Executive Report: Managing Digital Risks
