Loup Malware

Loup is a piece of malware that is unpopular relatively, and regular computer users should not worry about it. It seems that this threat has been developed with the sole purpose of infecting Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and then commanding them to do the bidding of the attacker. Usually, such malware is limited to target ATMs of a specific make and model, but there is not sufficient information to determine whether the Loup Malware is likely to target a specific bank or ATMs type.

What malware researchers were able to discover in its source code, however, is the fact that it looks for two specific currency – Egyptian Pound and Pound Sterling. If the infected ATM device has any of this currency in stock, the Loup Malware will load the rest of its modules and commence the attack. Another reason to think that Egypt might be the primary target of the Loup Malware is that the user who uploaded the corrupted file to an online virus scanning service used an Egyptian IP address.

The Loup Malware is not as advanced as some of the most notorious ATM malware families that have been operative in the past few years – it cannot match the functionality and covertness of FASTCash or ATMitch, for example. However, researchers warn that it has more than enough functionality to provide the attacker with information about the stock of the ATM's cassettes, as well as command the device to empty them. This means that the attackers would need someone to take the cash when the ATM releases it.