From: Khaleej Times

Allan Jacob

The malware, which the FBI terms “extremely sophisticated”, can steal banking and other passwords from the computers it infects and mostly spread through spam e-mail or phishing messages.  

It emerged three years ago and may be lying dormant on your computer as it gathers sensitive data. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation and cyber security firm Symantec estimate a million users around the world, including those in the UAE, have been affected by the GameOver Zeus virus. Users in the UAE are the third most affected (eight per cent over two years) with 5,000 to 6,000 infected computers in the past week alone, according to Symantec officials who spoke to Khaleej Times.

The US has been the most hit with 13 per cent, followed by Italy (12 per cent). Financial losses have run into tens of millions of dollars and though the FBI, Symantec and cyber security units from the affected countries have announced a cleanup of the scourge, Orla Cox, Symantec’s head of security response unit, said it’s still too early to predict the threat has passed.

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