India 6th most targetted by 'Dyre Trojan': Symantec

Financial institutions in India are the sixth-most targetted globally by a new malware 'Dyre Trojan' that has defrauded customers of more than 1,000 banks and other companies worldwide.

Following takedowns of the Gameover Zeus, Ramnit and Shylock operations, Dyre infections surged and attacks became more aggressive, making it the most dangerous financial Trojan, Symantec said in a statement.

Dyre is a sophisticated piece of malware that targets Windows computers and can steal banking and other credentials.

It is capable of hijacking all three major web browsers -- Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox -- to intercept banking credentials.

"Financial institutions in the US and the UK are most targetted but not far behind is India that ranks sixth globally and second in Asia," it said.

Globally, targets also include users of electronic payment services and HR-related websites, it added.

Symantec said financial gain is the primary motivation, but Dyre is often used to download additional malware onto a victim's machine and add them to a botnet.

"Based on the activity observed, the attackers adhere to a five-day work week during the UTC +2 or UTC +3 time zone, suggesting they operate out of eastern Europe or Russia," Symantec said.

In its Internet Security Threat Report Volume 20 released a few months ago, Symantec had revealed an increase in targeted attacks aimed at the financial sector in India at 17.1 per cent in 2014, up from 11.1 per cent in 2013.