Kaspersky Lab lead the discovery of ‘Gauss’, a new cyber-threat targeting users in the Middle East. Gauss is a complex, nation-state sponsored cyber-espionage toolkit that is design to steal sensitive data, with a specific focus on browser passwords, online banking account, cookies, and specific configurations of infected machines.
The online banking Trojan functionality found in Gauss is a unique characteristic that was not found in any previously known cyber weapons.
Gauss was discovered during the course of the ongoing effort initiated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), following the discovery of Flame. The effort is aimed at mitigating the risks posed by cyber-weapons, which is a key component in achieving the overall objective of global cyber-peace.
Quick Facts:
Study indicates that Gauss began operations in the September 2011 timeframe.
It was first discovered in June 2012, resulting from the knowledge gained by the in-depth analysis and research conducted on the Flame malware.
This discovery was made possible due to strong resemblances and correlations between Flame and Gauss.
The Gauss C&C infrastructure was shutdown in July 2012 shortly after its discovery. Currently the malware is in a dormant state, waiting for its C&C servers to become active.
Since late May 2012, more than 2,500 infections were recorded by Kaspersky Lab’s cloud-based security system, with the estimated total number of victims of Gauss probably being in the tens of thousands. This number is lower compared to the case of Stuxnet but it’s significantly higher than the number of attacks in Flame and Duqu.
Gauss steals detailed information about infected PCs including browser history, cookies, passwords, and system configurations. It is also capable of stealing access credentials for various online banking systems and payment methods.
Analysis of Gauss shows it was designed to steal data from several Lebanese banks including the Bank of Beirut, EBLF, BlomBank, ByblosBank, FransaBank and Credit Libanais. In addition, it targets users of Citibank and PayPal.
The Gauss Trojan is successfully detected, blocked and remediated by Kaspersky Lab’s products, classified as Trojan-Spy.Win32.Gauss.
The company’s experts have published in-depth analysis of the malware at Securelist.com: http://www.securelist.com/en/analysis/204792238/Gauss_Abnormal_Distribution
A Gauss FAQ containing the essential information about the threat is also available: http://www.securelist.com/en/blog?weblogid=208193767
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