Recently, I had the pleasure of hosting the administrator of the site Abuse.ch, the leading Zeus tracker site. Abuse.ch is one of a number of sites Leaseweb supports under its Community Outreach Project to make the internet a safer and better place. Leaseweb works with many not-for-profit organizations that monitor the web for malicious activity, offering free hosting and servers in return for the information that these groups collect on suspected internet security issues.
Zeus, and it variants are so-called “Trojans.” Trojans are files that claim to be something desirable, but in actuality are very malicious and threatening. Trojans contain code that, when triggered, cause loss, or even theft of data. For a Trojan to spread, you must open an email attachment or go to an infected site. Zeus and its variants are some of the most dangerous Trojans, stealing financial records and sending them back to its masters, who use the information for financial crimes.
As one of the largest and most respected hosts in Europe, Leaseweb has been in the forefront in combating malware, through the Community Outreach program and other initiatives. Leaseweb maintains a Security Office with highly skilled staff to ensure the safety of Leaseweb customers at all times. Abuse issues are professionally handled in a rapid manner, so that all matters are quickly resolved.
In my discussions with the administrator of Abuse.ch, he noted one of the main reasons for badness on the internet is that some hosting providers just do not care. Leaseweb provides a strong Acceptable Use Policy protecting its own customers, as well as the broader internet. With a bad host customers can be faced with blacklisted IP ranges; bouncing emails; dDos attacks; and a general lack of security. This is not a problem at Leaseweb.
Abuse.ch recently created the SpyEye tracker to follow new variants of Zeus. It is through the tireless work of sites such as Abuse.ch that real progress has been made to control internet malware. Leaseweb will continue to support it and other groups that are making the internet a safer place to operate. In reviewing Leaseweb’s security policies, the Abuse.ch administrator noted: “Leaseweb is a secure place.” We appreciate the vote of confidence and will continue to work to do even better in the future.
According to Symantec, spam was down 47% in October – its lowest level in over a year – due to some recent high profile botnet busts. Most industry professionals are now aware that Leaseweb was involved in the successful Bredolab botnet takedown last month.
The Dutch Forensic Institute (NFI), together with internet security organizations GOVCERT and Fox IT were involved in monitoring and identifying the botnet. The Armenian police were involved in the capture of the suspect behind this major cyber-crime incident.
It is a great example of how collaboration between Leaseweb and internet security organizations is helping to make the internet a much safer place. While cyber-criminals will always find new ways to infiltrate the web and target businesses and computer users, Leaseweb continues to work tirelessly to protect everyone utilizing the internet via our products and services. Working together we can win the fight against cyber-crime.