Dexter malware hits big in South Africa
Showtime’s infamous serial killer Dexter may be gone but his equally nasty malware namesake is apparently still striking unsuspecting bank systems.
A number of news outlets are reporting that South African banking and credit card systems were recently hit by a Dexter-based malware attack that may have netted the cybercrooks directing the attack over a million dollars.
The attack hit the payment card systems of thousands of stores, restaurants and hotels according to the Payment Association of South Africa (PASA). PASA said it believed the criminals responsible were based in Europe, but added it was not sure from which countries.
“It was certainly cleverly written. It took a while to detect,” Walter Volker, chief executive at PASA, told Reuters. All South African banks – including industry leader Standard Bank and smaller rivals FirstRand, Barclays Africa Group and Nedbank – had been affected. PASA said it believed the criminals responsible were based in Europe, but added it was not sure from which countries. “It’s probably the worst [attack] of its kind in terms of the losses,” Volker told the BBC.
Dexter came to light last year after it had be discovered to be responsible for a huge infestation in 40 countries including the US and UK. Dexter got its name from a string of code found in one of its files, which may link it to the Dexter cable show.
In and IDG News Service story on Dexter: Threat detection company Seculert CTO Aviv Raff said the number of Dexter infected systems, belonging to enterprises ranging from major retailers to hotels, restaurants and even private parking providers means that “probably tens of thousands of people” have been victims. How Dexter gains access to systems is still not known.
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