Trojan Malware

Subject – Security

Context – Beware of trojan malware attack, MeitY warns customers of 27 major banks

Concept –

A Trojan horse or Trojan is a type of malware that is often disguised as legitimate software.
Trojans can be employed by cyber-thieves and hackers trying to gain access to users’ systems. Users are typically tricked by some form of social engineering into loading and executing Trojans on their systems. Once activated, Trojans can enable cyber-criminals to spy on you, steal your sensitive data, and gain backdoor access to your system.
The term “Trojan” derives from the ancient Greek story about the deceptive Trojan horse which led to the fall of the city of Troy. When it comes to your computer, a Trojan virus operates similarly – it hides within seemingly harmless programs or tries to trick you into downloading it.
The name was coined in a US Air Force report in 1974, which speculated on hypothetical ways computers could be compromised.
Unlike viruses, Trojans don’t self-replicate. Instead, a Trojan horse spreads by pretending to be useful software or content while secretly containing malicious instructions.