TWO computer experts have been arrested by detectives investigating an internet banking scam causing havoc around the world.
The man and woman, both aged 20, were held as part of a worldwide probe into 'ZeuS' - a piece of malicious software that secretly lodges itself in computers and seizes bank details, credit cards numbers and passwords.
The pair are believed to be linked to a gang that has used ZeuS to obtain millions of pieces of data and cash by lodging itself in as many as 10,000 computers.
Police said the potential for financial gain was 'huge'. The man and woman, who live at the same address in Swinton, Salford, are the first people to be arrested in Europe as part of the investigation.
It is understood the pair were arrested by officers from Scotland Yard's e-crime unit. Greater Manchester Police were also involved. DI Colin Wetherill, of PCeU, said the arrests represented a 'considerable breakthrough' in the fight against on-line crime.
ZeuS, also known as Zbot, is a so-called 'trojan' - a kind of virus that does not copy itself, but simply lodges in the infected computer. Hackers use tricks like fake Facebook pages to fool unsuspecting computer users into installing the trojan.
Once lodged in a hard-drive, ZeuS records online bank account details, passwords and credit card numbers to steal cash. It also copies passwords for social networking sites - before forwarding the information it collects to servers controlled by the hackers.
Det Supt Charlie McMurdie, who leads the unit, said: "This is a very significant malicious computer programme or malware. In this instance we have 10,000 computers worldwide that have been infected.
"Suspects are harvesting millions of lines of data from infected computers. More than 200,000 lines of data were being compromised per day.
"The amount of financial harm that could be caused by using that data is huge, if fast and timely action had not been taken."
The suspects have been bailed until March.
The man and woman, both aged 20, were held as part of a worldwide probe into 'ZeuS' - a piece of malicious software that secretly lodges itself in computers and seizes bank details, credit cards numbers and passwords.
The pair are believed to be linked to a gang that has used ZeuS to obtain millions of pieces of data and cash by lodging itself in as many as 10,000 computers.
Police said the potential for financial gain was 'huge'. The man and woman, who live at the same address in Swinton, Salford, are the first people to be arrested in Europe as part of the investigation.
It is understood the pair were arrested by officers from Scotland Yard's e-crime unit. Greater Manchester Police were also involved. DI Colin Wetherill, of PCeU, said the arrests represented a 'considerable breakthrough' in the fight against on-line crime.
ZeuS, also known as Zbot, is a so-called 'trojan' - a kind of virus that does not copy itself, but simply lodges in the infected computer. Hackers use tricks like fake Facebook pages to fool unsuspecting computer users into installing the trojan.
Once lodged in a hard-drive, ZeuS records online bank account details, passwords and credit card numbers to steal cash. It also copies passwords for social networking sites - before forwarding the information it collects to servers controlled by the hackers.
Det Supt Charlie McMurdie, who leads the unit, said: "This is a very significant malicious computer programme or malware. In this instance we have 10,000 computers worldwide that have been infected.
"Suspects are harvesting millions of lines of data from infected computers. More than 200,000 lines of data were being compromised per day.
"The amount of financial harm that could be caused by using that data is huge, if fast and timely action had not been taken."
The suspects have been bailed until March.