UW Computer Security Research and Course Blog

The Tigger.A trojan was first discovered by iDefense, a security intelligence firm, in November 2008. It has proven to be very difficult to detect and remove from the beginning, which has many security researchers wondering if Tigger.A may actually be a new type of trojan. Since its discovery it has infected more than 250,000 Windows machines which were mainly located at major stock and options trading firms including E-Trade, ING Direct ShareBuilder, Vanguard, Options XPress, TD Ameritrade as well as Scottrade.

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Portable computing continues to increase in diversity and use.  While a few years ago the number of average people that carried a laptop around with them were relatively few, increases in the capabilities of cell phones as well as the rise of the netbooks are resulting in a society where any given person walking around on the street is likely to be carrying a portable computing device on them with the capability to store sensitive documents and browse the web.  This means that it’s more and more likely that the average person has with them a device that is designed to make it convenient for them to access their bank accounts and sensitive personal documents.

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