The Russian hackers are said to have shared the password information of thousands of unsuspecting Turkish internet users in exchange for 10 percent of the money stolen.
Reports in the Turkish media say that hundreds of internet users began to complain about unexpected withdrawals from their online bank accounts in January. A 20-strong team of the Izmir Organized Crime Bureau investigated the case, discovered the IP addresses of the computers making the illegal transactions, and made simultaneous raids at different addresses in Izmir, Fethiye, Didim and Kusadasi.
"In recent years there has been a growth in the number of viruses and Trojan horses written specifically to steal banking information from Web surfers. Spyware can silently hide on a user's computer waiting for them to type in their confidential information and then surreptiously share it with the hackers," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "The Turkish authorities should be applauded for looking into this case so speedily, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Phishing and spyware is a global problem, and all computer users need to defend themselves better against these kind of menaces if they want to continue to bank online safely."
According to Sophos, Russia is one of the top producers of malware, accounting for 4.1 percent of all malware authored during the last year.
