What Is GameOver ZeuS (GOZ)?

You may have heard the old saying, "Don't leave your computer unattended—or you'll be hacked." Well, the adage is about to become a lot more accurate. As now there's GameOver ZeuS (GOZ). GameOver ZeuS (GOZ) is a peer-to-peer botnet malware that evolved from the earlier ZeuS Trojan. Encrypted peer-to-peer communication between its nodes and command and control servers, which its predecessor did not have, makes itself more elusive to law enforcement detection operations. Like the original ZeuS Trojan, GOZ is used to steal financial information so that cybercriminals can illegally withdraw funds from businesses and individuals through various financial institutions. GameOver ZeuS is a Trojan Horse for the 21st century. It's not just a more powerful version of its ancestor. It also has better evasion capabilities and an encrypted peer-to-peer architecture for communication. It is difficult to track and trace GOZ as it does not lead directly to a central operation server, thus making it very difficult to shut down cybercrime. A new feature is creating a botnet and then utilizing it to conduct a denial-of-service attack. A Trojan of a different type is usually required for this, but in GOZ, it is already included. CryptoLocker is the most common form of malware installed by GOZ, and it's a big problem. CryptoLocker finds essential files on your computer and then holds them hostage through solid encryption so that the user is denied access until the user pays ransom to get the files back. Here's an example: You're working on an important project for work when suddenly you notice that all of your files have become unreadable. You try to open them, but nothing happens. You need to find out if they have any content left in them! If this has happened to you, there's a good chance it was CryptoLocker—and there's also a good chance that your files are gone forever unless you pay up.