Computer hacking
Part of a series on
History Phreaking Cryptovirology Hacking of consumer electronics List of hackers
Hacker culture and ethic Hackathon Hacker Manifesto Hackerspace Hacktivism Maker culture Types of hackers Black hat Grey hat White hat
Conferences Black Hat Briefings Chaos Communication Congress DEF CON Hackers on Planet Earth Security BSides ShmooCon Summercon
Computer crime Crimeware List of computer criminals Script kiddie
Hacking tools Exploit forensics-focused operating systems Payload Social engineering Vulnerability
Practice sites HackThisSite Zone-H
Malware Rootkit Backdoor Trojan horse Virus Worm Spyware Ransomware Logic bomb Botnet Keystroke logging HIDS Web shell RCE
Computer security Application security Cloud computing security Network security
Groups Anonymous Chaos Computer Club Homebrew Computer Club (defunct) Legion of Doom (defunct) LulzSec (defunct) Masters of Deception (defunct) Red team / Blue team
Publications 2600: The Hacker Quarterly Hacker News Nuts and Volts Phrack
v t e

Information security
Part of a series on

Related security categories
Computer security Automotive security Cybercrime Cybersex trafficking Computer fraud Cybergeddon Cyberterrorism Cyberwarfare Electronic warfare Information warfare Internet security Mobile security Network security Copy protection Digital rights management
Threats
Adware Advanced persistent threat Arbitrary code execution Backdoors Hardware backdoors Code injection Crimeware Cross-site scripting Cryptojacking malware Botnets Data breach Drive-by download Browser helper objects Viruses Data scraping Denial of service Eavesdropping Email fraud Email spoofing Exploits Keyloggers Logic bombs Time bombs Fork bombs Zip bombs Fraudulent dialers Malware Payload Phishing Polymorphic engine Privilege escalation Ransomware Rootkits Bootkits Scareware Shellcode Spamming Social engineering Screen scraping Spyware Software bugs Trojan horses Hardware Trojans Remote access trojans Vulnerability Web shells Wiper Worms SQL injection Rogue security software Zombie
Defenses
Application security Secure coding Secure by default Secure by design Misuse case Computer access control Authentication Multi-factor authentication Authorization Computer security software Antivirus software Security-focused operating system Data-centric security Code obfuscation Data masking Encryption Firewall Intrusion detection system Host-based intrusion detection system (HIDS) Anomaly detection Security information and event management (SIEM) Mobile secure gateway Runtime application self-protection
v t e

Crimeware is a class of malware designed specifically to automate cybercrime.^[1]

Crimeware (as distinct from spyware and adware) is designed to perpetrate identity theft through social engineering or technical stealth in order to access a computer user's financial and retail accounts for the purpose of taking funds from those accounts or completing unauthorized transactions on behalf of the cyberthief. Alternatively, crimeware may steal confidential or sensitive corporate information. Crimeware represents a growing problem in network security as many malicious code threats seek to pilfer valuable, confidential information.

The term crimeware was coined by David Jevans in February 2005 in an Anti-Phishing Working Group response to the FDIC article "Putting an End to Account-Hijacking Identity Theft,"^[2] which was published on December 14, 2004.

Examples

Criminals use a variety of techniques to steal confidential data through crimeware, including through the following methods:

Surreptitiously install keystroke loggers to collect sensitive data—login and password information for online bank accounts, for example—and report them back to the thief.^[3]
Redirect a user's web browser to a counterfeit website controlled by the thief even when the user types the website's proper domain name in the address bar, also known as pharming.^[4]
Steal passwords cached on a user's system.^[5]
Hijack a user session at a financial institution and drain the account without the user's knowledge.
Enable remote access into applications, allowing criminals to break into networks for malicious purposes.
Encrypt all data on a computer and require the user to pay a ransom to decrypt it (ransomware).

Delivery vectors

Crimeware threats can be installed on victims' computers through multiple delivery vectors, including:

Vulnerabilities in Web applications. The Bankash.G Trojan, for example, exploited an Internet Explorer vulnerability to steal passwords and monitor user input on webmail and online commerce sites.^[5]
Targeted attacks sent via SMTP. These social-engineered threats often arrive disguised as a valid e-mail message and include specific company information and sender addresses. The malicious e-mails use social engineering to manipulate users to open the attachment and execute the payload.^[6]
Remote exploits that exploit vulnerabilities on servers and clients^[7]

Concerns

Crimeware can have a significant economic impact due to loss of sensitive and proprietary information and associated financial losses. One survey estimates that in 2005 organizations lost in excess of $30 million due to the theft of proprietary information.^[8] The theft of financial or confidential information from corporate networks often places the organizations in violation of government and industry-imposed regulatory requirements that attempt to ensure that financial, personal and confidential.

United States

US laws and regulations include:

References

External links

Malware topics

Malware topics
Infectious malware	Comparison of computer viruses Computer virus Computer worm List of computer worms Timeline of computer viruses and worms
Concealment	Backdoor Clickjacking Man-in-the-browser Man-in-the-middle Rootkit Trojan horse Zombie computer
Malware for profit	Adware Botnet Crimeware Fleeceware Form grabbing Fraudulent dialer Malbot Keystroke logging Privacy-invasive software Ransomware Rogue security software Scareware Spyware Web threats
By operating system	Android malware Classic Mac OS viruses iOS malware Linux malware MacOS malware Macro virus Mobile malware Palm OS viruses HyperCard viruses
Protection	Anti-keylogger Antivirus software Browser security Data loss prevention software Defensive computing Firewall Internet security Intrusion detection system Mobile security Network security
Countermeasures	Computer and network surveillance Honeypot Operation: Bot Roast