Topic: Skype Wiretapping Trojan Publicly Released (MiniPanzer, MegaPanzer, Notepad.exe)

[Samker]

The Swiss creator of a Skype Trojan that can intercept calls made using the VoIP program has released the Trojan's source code online in an attempt to allow for its widespread detection.

In a translated interview with gulli.com, Ruben Unteregger says that with the Trojan's publication, "it will get analysed... signature patterns will be created by antivirus companies, the malware will be detected, blocked and deleted, if it tries to infect a system": http://www.gulli.com/news/bundestrojaner-a-programmer-2009-08-24/

Previous reports from the IDG News Service tied the in-development Skype Trojan to the Swiss Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, which reportedly hired Unteregger's company to create the digital wiretap.

The Trojan works by recording calls on an infected PC before they're encrypted and sent across the network, according to a new story from IDG's John Dunn. The recorded mp3's could then be sent off to the Trojan's distributor for analysis.

But to work, the Trojan has to first infect a PC. Unteregger's release of the source code should improve antivirus software's ability to detect and block such an infection (no word on whether AV products already do so): http://www.megapanzer.com/source-code/

Unteregger's interview covers more details about this and other Trojans, including one reportedly commissioned by the German authorities.

(PCW)