Hackers Use Interest in European Storm to Spread Virus
Hackers are using human tragedy to gain access to vulnerable computers. Spammers are exploiting the public interest in the European storm to spread a computer virus that sends out junk email. The virus is being called the "Storm Worm" and has infected at least 10,000 PCs worldwide.
The virus arrives as an attachment to an e-mail. The e-mails' subject line, "230 dead as storm batters Europe", refers to Thursday's storm that disrupted travel for tens of thousands, shut down power and killed at least 47 people. Once the attachment is opened, the virus is installed, allowing spammers to take control of the infected PC without the victims' knowledge. The computers can then be used to send more junk e-mail or pass along personal information.
