Zeus is well-known among bank security experts as perhaps the most pernicious of all Trojans, which seek to infect individual computers for nefarious purposes. The makers of Zeus, whoever they are, now are bent on raising the stakes.

A new form of Zeus--identified by security firm Dasient--allows criminals to detect when an infected PC visits a specific online banking site. Then, it displays a fake site designed to steal account and personal information in order to steal funds (financial data security news). Presently, HSBC and Alliance & Leicester in Britain, and Citibank's German site have been targeted. But you would have to think the use of this new and "improved" Zeus will spread fairly quickly.

"Stopping the new Zeus attack can be tricky. Unlike traditional phishing attacks, it does not involve e-mail lures that can be blocked by spam filters or Web domains that can be removed from the Internet," notes the New York Times. Banks obviously need to be aware and look into whether software from Trusteer and Rapport--which banks often give customers--are up to the challenge.

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