Kronos (malware)

Kronos was a type of banking Windows malware first reported in 2014. It was sold for $7,000.[1]

It was developed as a followup to the UPAS Kit which has been released in 2012.[2]

Similar to Zeus,[3] it was focused on stealing banking login credentials from browser sessions via a combination of keylogging and web injection.[4] In 2015, its attacks were focused on British banks.[1][2]

In August 2017, British security researcher Marcus Hutchins (aka 'MalwareTech'), previously notable for his involvement stopping the May 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack,[5] was arrested by the FBI whilst visiting the United States.[6] He was alleged to have created the software in 2014, and to have sold it in 2015 via the AlphaBay forums.[7][8] Hutchins later admitted to being paid to work on Kronos and its predecessor UPAS Kit (named after the toxic Upas tree) as the main developer between 2011 and spring 2015.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Kessem, Limor (October 2, 2015). "UK Banks Hit With New Zeus Sphinx Variant and Renewed Kronos Banking Trojan Attacks". Security Intelligence. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Greenberg, Andy (12 May 2020). "The Confessions of Marcus Hutchins, the Hacker Who Saved the Internet". Wired. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Overview of the Kronos banking malware rootkit". Lexsi Security Hub. September 24, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  4. ^ Constantin, Lucian (14 July 2014). "New banking malware 'Kronos' advertised on underground forums". Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  5. ^ Gibbs, Samuel (22 May 2017). "WannaCry hackers still trying to revive attack says accidental hero". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  6. ^ McGoogan, Cara (4 August 2017). "WannaCry hero Marcus Hutchins could face 40 years in US prison". Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  7. ^ Cox, Joseph (August 3, 2017). "Kronos Indictment R". DocumentCloud. (independent journalist). Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  8. ^ Kerr, Orin (3 August 2017). "The Kronos indictment: Is it a crime to create and sell malware?". Retrieved 4 August 2017.
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