Kaspersky Lab is pleased to announce that Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 successfully blocked all the malware attacks targeting online banking systems during recent independent testing by MRG Effitas.

Malware that targets users of e-payment and online banking systems are among the most dangerous types of cyber-attack. A successful attack can result in money being stolen from a user’s bank account with little chance of getting it back. As online payment services and banking systems gain in popularity, the demands made of security solutions by home users are increasing. Products are now expected to provide a high level of security that includes protection from cyber-attacks targeting banks.

The ultimate goal of MRG Effitas’s Online Banking/Browser Security Assessment Project Q2 2013 was to evaluate just how well the leading security solutions cope when confronted by such attacks.

Two types of tests were performed:

• Detection and blocking of the continually evolving Zeus Trojan (a total of 100 in-the-wild samples of this widespread financial malware were used in testing throughout Q2)
• Blocking of Man-in-the-Browser (MitB) attacks where cybercriminals try to intercept data from the browser during an online banking session.

It should be noted that instead of using malware the MRG Effitas experts used simulators that replicated the behavior of interceptors for the MitB test. This meant that when the simulators were loaded to the test PC the security solutions’ antivirus databases did not include signatures capable of blocking them. The result of this test depended entirely on the ability of the solutions to analyze the behavior of other programs. 

Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 demonstrated its 100% effectiveness in both tests, detecting and blocked all 100 Zeus samples, and faultlessly identifying the malicious functionality of the simulators and blocking all attempts at data interception. 

“Specialized tests assessing the quality of protection against banking attacks are rarely performed despite the growing popularity and complexity of these threats. MRG Effitas is known for deep expertise in this area and its tests deserve special attention. The test involving the use of the simulators is of particular interest because it checks how a product fares against the most sophisticated types of attack when most malware detection technologies are powerless. Thanks to our Safe Money technology our product prevented the theft of any user data and protected it in all test scenarios,” said Oleg Ishanov, Director of the Anti-Malware Research Unit, Kaspersky Lab. 

A total of 21 security solutions took part in the test. Apart from the Kaspersky Lab solution, only eight other products demonstrated a high level of protection against online banking attacks. 

This is not the first time the Kaspersky Lab solution’s advanced protection has earned a top award from MRG Effitas. In November 2012 the experts at the independent organization gave Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 its seal of approval for financial data security. Kaspersky Internet Security combines a series of cutting-edge technologies to combat all types of malware and Internet-based threats including financial attacks, as well as anti-phishing and anti-spam technologies and parental controls to block threats targeting children.