100 Brazilian banking Trojans created by a 20-year-old computer science student

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What had you accomplished by the age of 20? 
 
I know there are a few entrepreneurial types among our regular readers who fast-tracked into business at a young age, learning the ropes of providing products and services in exchange for cash. But this young Brazilian has taken a much less legal path to financial security, hurting many parties along the way.
 
Meet Lordfenix: a 20-year-old Computer science student from Tocantins, Brazil, and one of Brazil’s top banking malware creators. In this blog post, Trend Micro alleges that this young adult is responsible for creating more than 100 banking Trojans, valued at over $300 USD a pop.
 
ESET's recent research shows why Brazil is such a hotbed for banking Trojans, “Not only is Brazil one of the most populated countries in the world, but it is also one of the countries with the highest percentage of Internet users using online banking. That is why Brazil is the country where banking trojans are the number one threat.”
 
Trend Micro says that they found Lordfenix offering free versions of fully-functional banking Trojans source code to underground forum members. The IT security company also found him advertising his malicious wares via his Skype profile. 
 
While this 20-year-old seems to be making a fast buck, this is not a victimless crime. Not only is Lordfenix chipping away at the bank’s reputations and cash reserves, he is also pilfering the accounts of innocent end-users. 
 
Some of these victims will be innocent, hard-working families who are saving up to give their own kids an education or medical care, and this malware kid is using his impressive skill set to dash such efforts. 
 
Yuck. 

Read the full post on Trend Micro's blog:  Lordfenix: 20-year-old Brazilian Makes Profit Off Banking Malware

Tags: Brazil spyware banking Trojans Lordfenix malware ESET Trend
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