September 12, 2015
British cyber-security experts have uncovered a trove of hundreds of millions of email addresses being used as a hitlist by criminals stealing financial data from banks, government bodies and other corporates.
Specialists at GCHQ have been alerting companies named in the files, as an international investigation seeks to track down those using it.
The vast database of 385 million addresses was uncovered by the IT services giant Fujitsu, after following a trail from major clients who had fallen victim to hackers.
The email addresses were being used to distribute a “Trojan” virus that allows criminals to take remote control of computers to harvest passwords, and sensitive financial data.
The attack was global but particularly targeted the UK.