Zbot Bugat Bank Trojan Joins HacksTapping Businesses For $200K A DayZbot Bugat Bank Trojan Joins HacksTapping Businesses For $200K A Day

Zbot, the botnet already notorious for spreading the Zeus Trojan, has evidently launched a new intruder. This one targets businesses, specifically business financial accounts. And instead of grabbing credentials, this one goes straight for the cash.According to security firm SecureWorks, the latest wrinkle in the long-lived Zbot botnet is Bugat, a new Trojan that goes after the automated transaction connections between businesses and their banks.

As described in a SecureWorks blog, Bugat differs from predecessor (not that they're deceased) Zbot credential-stealing Trojans Zeus and Clampi by giving remote controllers the option to tap wire transfers and automated clearinghouse (ACH) processes. Networking firm Neustar estimated last fall that ACH fraud costs SMBs and governments $100,000-$200,000 a day.

That figure seems likely to go up. The persistence of Zbot -- it and Zeus have been around for years; Zbot includes more than 3.6 million compromised U.S. computers in its network. Bugat is the latest tool in its arsenal; doubtful that it will be the last.