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The Telecom Digest for December 11, 2012
Volume 31 : Issue 289 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Sophisticated botnet steals more than $47M by infecting PCs and phones (Monty Solomon)
Disruptions: How Smartphones Are Making Wallets Obsolete (Monty Solomon)
Hands-on: Gmail 2.0 for iOS is more Google-Plus-ified than ever (Updated)
(Monty Solomon)

====== 31 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======

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Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2012 00:59:25 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Sophisticated botnet steals more than $47M by infecting PCs and  phones
Message-ID: <p06240826cceb29eea2f5@[10.0.1.5]>

Sophisticated botnet steals more than $47M by infecting PCs and phones

Intercepts SMS messages from bank, defeating two-factor authentication.

by Sean Gallagher
Dec 5 2012
Ars Technica

A new version of the Zeus trojan - a longtime favorite of criminals
conducting online financial fraud - has been used in attacks on over
30,000 electronic banking customers in Europe, infecting both their
personal computers and smartphones. The sophisticated attack is
designed to circumvent banks' use of two-factor authentication for
transactions by intercepting messages sent by the bank to victims'
mobile phones.

The malware and botnet system, dubbed "Eurograbber" by security 
researchers from Check Point Software and Versafe, was first detected 
in Italy earlier this year. It has since spread throughout Europe. 
Eurograbber is responsible for more than $47 million in fraudulent 
transfers from victims' bank accounts, stealing amounts from 
individual victims that range from 500 Euros (about $650) to 25,000 
Euros (about $32,000), according to a report published Wednesday.

The malware attack begins when a victim clicks on a malicious link, 
possibly sent as part of a phishing attack. Clicking on the link 
directs them to a site that attempts to download one or more trojans: 
customized versions of Zeus and its SpyEye and CarBerp variants that 
allow attackers to record Web visits and then inject HTML and 
JavaScript into the victim's browser. The next time the victim visits 
their bank website, the trojans capture their credentials and launch 
a JavaScript that spoofs a request for a "security upgrade" from the 
site, offering to protect their mobile device from attack. The 
JavaScript captures their phone number and their mobile operating 
system information - which are used in the second level of 
Eurograbber's attack.

...

http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/12/sophisticated-botnet-steals-more-than-47m-by-infecting-pcs-and-phones/

https://www.checkpoint.com/products/downloads/whitepapers/Eurograbber_White_Paper.pdf




Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2012 00:48:00 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Disruptions: How Smartphones Are Making Wallets Obsolete
Message-ID: <p06240824cceb27b71e20@[10.0.1.5]>

Disruptions: How My Smartphone Emptied My Pockets

By NICK BILTON
DECEMBER 9, 2012

Growing up, I noticed that something happened to my father as he 
aged: his wallet expanded with each passing year.

There were new credit cards, membership cards, coffee cards, business 
cards, pictures of his family, stamps and other plastic and paper 
things, added almost weekly. Eventually, his wallet grew so large 
that he would pull it out of his back pocket when he sat down, 
dropping it on the table like a brick.

As I've grown older, something entirely different has happened to my 
wallet: each year, it has become slimmer. Things that once belonged 
there have gradually been siphoned out by my smartphone. Last week, I 
realized I didn't need to carry a wallet anymore. My smartphone had 
replaced almost everything in it.

So, it's gone. Add that to the pile of things - my address books, 
Filofax, portable music player, point-and-shoot camera, printouts of 
maps - that have melded into the smartphone.

So where did the things that used to live in my wallet go?

...

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/disruptions-how-my-smartphone-emptied-my-pockets/




Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2012 01:47:16 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Hands-on: Gmail 2.0 for iOS is more Google-Plus-ified than ever  (Updated)
Message-ID: <p0624082acceb35bb66f3@[10.0.1.5]>

Hands-on: Gmail 2.0 for iOS is more Google-Plus-ified than ever (Updated)

Aside from the UI, multiple account support is the best new feature.

by Jacqui Cheng
Dec 4 2012
Ars Technica

Google completely redesigned its Gmail app for iOS, releasing the 2.0 
version to users through the App Store on Tuesday afternoon. And 
although the feature list may not be lengthy, the ones that were 
added have so far been met with great jubilation from regular Gmail 
users. In addition to being Google-Plus-ified in the UI (which may or 
may not be a good thing, depending on how you feel about Google+), 
the app has gained a number of very practical features. These may 
tempt users of Mail-or even Sparrow-away from their apps of choice.

I decided to take the Gmail 2.0 app for a spin after its release 
(which is apparently still making its way through the App Store for 
some users). As noted above, the first thing I noticed was how much 
the interface has been redone to more closely resemble the redesigned 
Google+ app released earlier this year. The fonts now match between 
the apps, and Google uses a clean-but appropriately colorful-layout 
to draw the eye to the appropriate buttons and avatars. Lots of 
avatars. Everywhere Google can fit them in.

...

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/12/hands-on-gmail-2-0-for-ios-is-more-google-plus-ified-than-ever/






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