Chinese police bust cybercrime ring behind 'Silver Fox' Trojan virus

Chinese police have cracked a series of cybercrime cases involving a new variant of the Silver Fox Trojan virus, which has recently emerged in cyberspace, the Ministry of Public Security's cybersecurity bureau said on Tuesday.

The Trojan is highly deceptive and mainly targets employees of enterprises and public institutions, particularly financial personnel, the bureau said.

Once installed on a victim's computer, the malware can enable remote control, steal account passwords, intercept SMS verification codes and obtain private data, it said.

Public security organs have taken proactive actions to investigate and crack down on such crimes, the bureau said.

In one case, police in Jilin province uncovered a criminal gang led by a suspect surnamed Chen that had developed a variant of the Silver Fox Trojan and used technical means to evade security detection.

The gang allegedly sent phishing emails in bulk, stole corporate data and built fraud scenarios to carry out criminal activities totaling more than 7 million yuan ($1 million), police said. Local police have taken criminal compulsory measures against Chen and 26 other suspects, and the case is under further investigation.

Police have warned the public to download software only from official websites and carefully check website domains to avoid fake sites using similar-looking characters, multiple hyphens or unofficial suffixes.

People should also be alert to links shared in chat groups under the guise of "meetings" or "subsidies" and verify them with the sender by phone or video call before opening them, police said. Any unverified links asking for SMS verification codes or bank card passwords should be treated with caution.

If a computer behaves abnormally, such as the mouse moving on its own or software automatically sending messages, users should immediately disconnect it from the internet, police said.

They should also change passwords for social media and banking accounts on a secure device, notify friends, colleagues and clients that the account may have been compromised, and contact IT staff or use professional antivirus software to run a full scan. In addition, reinstalling the operating system may be necessary in serious cases, police added.

Under China's Criminal Law, illegally accessing computer systems, stealing data or illegally controlling such systems can lead to imprisonment, criminal detention and fines, depending on the severity of the offense. The law also punishes those who provide programs or tools for such illegal activities.