Porn Sites Serve Up Malware Attacks
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Hundreds of porn sites are surprising users with exploits via Mpack, the hacker toolkit featured in 'Italian Job' attacks.
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As infected images plant back doors on PCs, experts see possibility of virus too.
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(InfoWorld) - Online criminals have launched a widespread Web attack that has turned tens of thousands of legitimate Web sites into weapons, security vendors said Monday. The attack began late last week, and by Monday morning, more than 10,000 Web sites had been compromised, according to security firms Trend Micro and Websense. Although attackers have hit targets around the world lately, more than 80 percent of the infections are on Italian Web sites, said David Perry, global director of education with Trend Micro. "Almost all of the Web sites we saw this weekend were in Italy; We were referring to it as 'Italian Job 3,' in-house," he said referring to the Michael Caine heist film that was remade in 2003. Most of the infected Web sites are legitimate, Perry added. "These aren't porn sites, they aren't gambling sites; they are hotels, fish-and-tackle sites, tourist information," he said. Even local Italian government Web sites have been infected, and most of the affected sites are hosted by one of Italy's largest Web service providers, Trend Micro said. Infected Web sites contain a short piece of HTML "iFrame" code that redirects the victim's Web browser to a server that attempts to infect the victim's computer using a tool called "MPack." MPack can launch a variety of different attacks against the victim's PC, depending on which browser and operating system is running. It exploits a number of well-known bugs that have already been patched, meaning it is dangerous to people who are not running an updated version of their browser, Perry said. "If they have a browser that hasn't been patched, their machine is going to be compromised." The malware can be used to attack Internet Explorer, Firefox, and even the Opera browser. MPack installs a keylogger and a Trojan downloader program on compromised PCs so that the attackers can monitor the victim's activity and run other unauthorized programs on the computer. "They can turn your computer into anything they want," Perry said. The U.S. FBI is investigating the matter, according to Perry. "This is an absolutely criminal activity," he said. "They're attaching keyloggers to many thousands of people's computers without their consent" While the technique these criminals are using to infect PCs isn't new, "an attack on this scale is notable for both its ambition and the coordination involved in pulling something like this off," said Chris Boyd, a researcher at FaceTime Communications. "Users should ensure they're fully patched as the hackers are relying on you running exploitable systems to gain entry into your PC."ADVERTISEMENTIBM Information On Demand 2006Industrial Industry Leaders, please join us at IBM's premier information management global event, IBM Information On Demand 2006, October 15-20, Anaheim, CA. More IBM business and technical solutions content in one place than ever before! Select from  over 800 sessions. Register today!
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An attack combining malicious codes on Web sites and end-user laziness could compromise millions of routers still configured with their out-of-the-box defaults.
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InfoWorld - Malware-infected botnet PCs have overtaken denial-of-service attacks as the top security issue facing Internet service providers and other Web infrastructure hosting players, according to a new survey of the organizations.
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Program isn't entirely benevolent: it also downloads files to infected PCs.
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A new Eastern European Web site uses a large botnet to infect vulnerable PCs--clients are charged for each successful PC infection.
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Infected pictures that could implant a back door into a Windows computer have been spotted on Usenet.
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A survey shows that malware-infected botnet PCs have overtaken denial-of-service attacks as the top security issue facing Internet service providers and others.
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Infected sites feed exploits to visitors--and more sites are affected than first suspected.
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Malicious hackers are seeding Internet news groups that traffic in pornography with JPEG images that take advantage of a recently disclosed security hole in Microsoft&#39;s software, according to warnings from antivirus software companies and Internet
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The growing use of Web feed readers and the proliferation of content aggregation sites are giving hackers an easy way to deliver malware to users' computers, security analysts warn.
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Malware that spreads via Yahoo Messenger also plays screeching music and hijacks IE's home page.
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A flaw in the way the Firefox and Opera browsers handle an image file could allow an attacker to see what Web sites a person has visited.
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Popular Web sites like MySpace and Photobucket has banner ads containing malicious code that could lead to the compromise of a computer.
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Worried about catching viruses, spyware, or other malicious software while surfing the Web?
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Study shows most attacks come from exploited PCs beloging to DSL or cable customers.