Citadel Computer Trojan Found to Have Ties to Money Extortion Zeus and Reveton Threats

Citadel was first discovered in early 2012 and later recognized as a serious threat to the security and stability of infected systems. The Citadel Trojan can be viewed as a means for cybercrooks, to basically, steal money or login credentials from PC users.

One particular threat that Citadel has similarities in is the Zeus Trojan, which is known for compromising online banking login details. Not only is Citadel related to Zeus in a way, but a newer variation of Trojans, known as Reveton, is a similar type of threat. Citadel and Reveton share a malware platform where it renders a ransom message asking that a PC user pay a fine for purported illegal activities. Citadel is believed to be a launching platform for the Reveton ransomware threat.

The Citadel Trojan, as addressed in the latest release of the Citadel Trojan Removal Report at http://www.enigmasoftware.com/citadeltrojan-removal/, has some of the same capabilities of popular malware threats. Citadel and Reveton represent a money extortion scheme. They were all created at the hand of hackers who intend on scamming PC users out of money through stringent methods. In the case of Citadel, it is known to lock up a PC and leave it almost unusable. The Reveton ransomware message is more of an after-effect of Citadel where it performs the money retrieval tactics through a ransom message displayed on the infected system's screen.

Citadel and Reveton have a common purpose of rendering threat alerts and ransom messaged pretending to be some type of law enforcement agency. In some cases, as revealed in EnigmaSoftware.com's Reveton removal report, the ransom message implies that it is from the FBI. These messages are completely baseless should not be taken for face value.

Removal of Citadel and related threats, such as Reveton or Zeus Trojan, should be performed with the help of an updated antimalware application to ensure all related malware is eliminated. Computer users who run into the Citadel, Reveton or Zeus threats, are urged to contact the IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center) through their website at www.IC3.gov.