A banking trojan named Bizarro has expanded its attacks to target customers of 70 European and South American banks. The banking trojan, which originates in Brazil, is spread through phishing emails and affects Windows systems.
Researchers at Kaspersky Labs discovered the banking trojan. The group relies on affiliates and recruiting money mules to use social engineering to trick users into using fake two-factor identification codes. Bizzaro reaches users by sending spam emails with fake links to users, which distributes an MSI package.
The trojan then downloads a ZIP archive which contains the malicious code, and then Bizzaro eliminates any current online banking websites on the user’s device. This forces the user to re-enter their credentials which are then stolen by the malware. Bizarro focuses on gathering information such as the computer’s name, default browser name, and installed antivirus software name. The malware uses a screen capturing module to monitor the user’s screen for bitcoin wallet addresses constantly. This wallet is then replaced with one that belongs to the Bizarro malware developers.
Bizarro is rooted in its backdoor component, which supports over 100 commands and allows attackers to steal online banking credentials. These commands display fake popup messages to users but only becomes active once the malware finds a connection to one of the hardcoded banking systems. Bizarro receives many commands such as obtaining data about the user, allowing control of the files, mouse, and keyboard on the device, and commands that enable social engineering.
Bizarro uses social engineering by tricking the users into giving their bank account login credentials through message windows asking for login data or two-factor authentication. These messages provide the user with fake notifications asking to re-enter their credentials or asking for a confirmation code. These methods allow the malware to steal the user’s banking credentials swiftly and promptly. Bizarro also uses JPEG images with the target bank’s logo to convince the user that their system has been compromised and needs an update. Other malware such as Guildma, Javali, and Melcoz originate from Brazil just like Bizarro and target users all over Europe.
