There is a possibility that about 16,000 computers in Japan are infected with the same type of virus. The virus in question might be the same one that is used for online banking fraud which involves stolen user IDs and passwords.
The National Police Agency (NPA) informed that since 2011, it handled around 600 confirmed cases of unauthorized money transfers. The case is being investigated and so far, it was found that a single group might be responsible for many of the roughly 400 cases which are reported so far in 2013.
An official in charge from NPA said that it is also possible that the number of cases will increase. More reports have revealed that the virus – which has been spreading since early 2013 – is capable of stealing even one-time passwords which are issued by financial institutions for use in a single transaction.
Investigators have also said that computers might have been infected when their owners accessed certain websites. The virus was analyzed with the help of a computer security company, after which it was found that the stolen IDs and passwords were sent to multiple servers, which are located in the US and Europe.
Photo Credits: Phys
