Zeus Trojan source code might be up for sale

SOMEONE IS TRYING to sell what they claim is source code for the Zeus Trojan, a piece of malware that attempts to steal banking information through keylogging.

In a blog post, Peter Kruse of insecurity firm CSIS said that several individuals claimed they had the Zeus source code. CSIS could not verify any of the claims, but said somebody with the handle 'IOO' was able to attach a screenshot to their announcement that backed up their claim.

Kruse said there is also a rumour that the Zeus source code has been sold to the creator of Spyeye, a rival to Zeus. Symantec first saw Spyeye at the end of 2009, which it said was similar to Zeus in many ways.

Kruse said that CSIS could not substantiate either claim, but added, "What is certain is the fact that someone besides the author of the ZeuS/Zbot has access to the code - and this we can document."

Fraudsters can get their grubby mitts on Zeus in different ways. They can buy a ready-made version, infection kits, build your own botnet kits as well as 'beginner' Trojans you can play around with.

Zeus has been around for a few years, but online criminals modifying and actually getting their hands on the source code for it is relatively new. This could signal a new danger, as hackers could easily start playing around and creating malware that is more evolved and effective. µ