Malware’s new target: your password manager’s password

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Cyber criminals have started targeting the password managers that protect an individual's most sensitive credentials by using a keylogger to steal the master password in certain cases, according to research from data-protection company IBM Trusteer.

The research found that a configuration file, which attackers use to tailor the Citadel trojan for specific campaigns, had been modified to start up a keylogger when the user opened either Password Safe or KeePass, two open-source password managers. While malware has previously targeted the credentials stored in the password managers included in popular Web browsers, third-party password managers have typically not been targeted.

While the current impact of the attack is low, the implications of the attacker’s focus is that password managers will soon come under more widespread assault, Dana Tamir, director of enterprise security for IBM Trusteer, told Ars Technica.