Consumers across the world have been told that they have a window of just two weeks to ensure their computers are secure from a cyber attack.

The call comes after the National Crime Agency in the UK and the FBI in the US and took down a ‘command and control’ botnet that has been used to steal personal and financial data.

The malware, known as Gameover Zeus, is thought to have affected one million computers globally, and been used by cyber criminals to make $500 million worth of fraudulent transactions in the US alone in 2013.

Approximately 15,500 computers in Britain are thought to have been infected, with Internet Service Providers set to contact households at risk.

But despite the co-ordinated global server raid on the malware network by authorities, the National Crime Agency said that it could be as little as two weeks before the botnet operation was up and running again.

FS customers have been warned not to open any suspicious email attachments, as fake messages from banks have been used as a method to distribute the malware.

All Microsoft users have been advised to scan for Gameover Zeus and CryptoLocke on their machines, and to keep an updated anti-virus switched on at all times.

Mark Coates, EMEA VP of Good Technology, said that the latest data compromise affected both individuals and businesses.

“This is the ‘gold rush’ generation for computer viruses and personal data is the currency of today,” he commented. “Gameover Zeus is highly potent, but only the latest virus. Yet there’s still a gap in awareness of how to protect personal data. The man on the street is highly vulnerable, but so are big businesses – because people use the same devices for personal email as for business tasks. This threat affects everyone.”

The US authorities have now charged a Russian man, Evgeniy Bogachev, with masterminding the botnet operation, although he currently remains at large.

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