RSA launches financial Trojan killer

RSA Security is to launch a new service to help financial institutions eliminate websites associated with malicious Trojan horse software.

The service, planned to complement an anti-phishing service already offered by RSA, focuses on getting to the basics of how Trojans work, and will use services offered by other security partners, such as antivirus specialists and internet service providers.

Typical users of the service are likely to be financial services companies, auction sites and online merchants, because criminals are now turning to the use of malicious Trojans incorporating keyloggers and spyware as an alternative to phishing to sniff out victims’ financial information and then raid their bank accounts.

RSA plans to work with the antivirus suppliers and ISPs to identify and block dangerous Trojans and then shut down the websites associated with them. RSA said that as part of a beta testing service it has been operating, 170 Trojan-related sites have already been closed down.

RSA’s eFraudNetwork has certainly been successful in enabling banks to share security information to prevent phishing attacks, though whether an anti-Trojan service will work in practice has yet to be proven. There is clearly a need for it, but detection will mean that the good guys have to start catching up with the bad ones – and the bad guys are always a couple of steps ahead.

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