Zbot Trojan threatens e-banking

The Zbot or Zeus malware is a Trojan - a program that comes disguised as one thing (such as an e-mail attachment), but instead steals online banking details, according to Guardian.co.uk.

Trojans are a serious threat to the security of users' machines: the cleverest prevent anti-virus software from downloading updates that would catch it and wait silently until the user goes on to a banking, share-dealing or social networking site, at which point it will capture login details.

F-Secure, a computer security company, noted that "to gather more information, the malware author can even create additional fields, which are then injected into a targeted Web page for the unsuspecting victim to fill in". The person in control of Zbot could capture enough information to steal unsuspecting users' identities completely.

When it comes to ATM use the world is divided - and not just along the usual lines between rich and poor, writes CNN.

While banks in Hong Kong and some countries, such as Spain, Portugal and Russia, offer a wealth of services, banks in the UK and US typically just provide bank account services.

Certainly the age of the network can be a barrier, with countries that have recently installed ATMs, India, for example, much better placed to extend services than those with older systems, like the US. But social attitudes also seem to play a part. In the UK, where ATMs are universally referred to as "cash machines", people seem unwilling to change their habits and prefer online banking.

The financial services sector is the UK's most technologically innovative business sector following the economic downturn, according to research from BT Global Services, says ISJ.tv.

A survey of board-level executives from large companies found 92% of respondents in financial services indicated they were investing in at least one of the listed technologies - far more than respondents in other sectors such as retail, transport and logistics.

Despite reports to the contrary, many financial institutions did not feel the recession had stifled their priorities towards spending on core technology requirements, and 52% of financial institutions indicated they were investing money in faster and more reliable network technology in order to maximise their recovery.