Commentary
Malware Attack Riding Coattails Of Obama Win
Antivirus software maker Sophos today discovered attackers have launched a Web campaign of their own that aims to exploit the senator's presidential victory. And it's rather nasty.Antivirus software maker Sophos today discovered attackers have launched a Web campaign of their own that aims to exploit the senator's presidential victory. And it's rather nasty.According to Sophos, this malware may have reached as much as 80% of all of the malicious spam that flowed through Sophos Labs today.
According to the company, targeted users first get a spam e-mail proclaiming the Obama win, and it asks users to visit a bogus election results Web site. Users are then asked to download what looks to be a movie to watch Obama's "amazing speech." Instead of a video of Obama's speech in Chicago last night, visitors are instead infected with a Trojan horse/backdoor which can be remotely controlled by the attacker.
More Security Insights
White Papers
- Mobile BI: Actionable Intelligence for the Agile Enterprise
- Creating the Enterprise-Class Tablet Environment - by Yankee Group
Reports
More >>Webcasts
- Outsourcing Security: What Every Potential Cloud Security Customer Should Know
- Maximize ROI with Database Consolidation onto Private Clouds
In an e-mail to InformationWeek, a Sophos spokesperson also noted that the malware:
Contains rootkit technology to conceal itself Is designed to steal information from an infected computer Also has general "backdoor" functionality Spies on user's keyboard and mouse inputs and can take screenshots Looks for passwords
It submits the information it needs to a Web server located in Kiev, Ukraine.
Sophos has more information here, on its research blog.
Related Reading
| To upload an avatar photo, first complete your Disqus profile. | View the list of supported HTML tags you can use to style comments. | Please read our commenting policy. | |
|
|
T-Shirt Giveaway: Each week we're selecting one great comment from our readers. The author of the comment will receive an InformaitonWeek Community t-shirt. So get posting! |
Subscribe to RSSResource Links
This Week's Issue
Technology Whitepapers
- Mobile BI: Actionable Intelligence for the Agile Enterprise
- Creating the Enterprise-Class Tablet Environment - by Yankee Group
- How To Regain IT Control In An Increasingly Mobile World - by BlackBerry
- The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet's Good Bones - by BlackBerry
- Red Alert: Why Tablet Security Matters - by BlackBerry
Featured Resource
This is your portal to all the news, product information, technical data, and other information related to the topic of computer user authentication and certification. Visit us to find out how to ensure that computer users are who they say they are.
Learn More












