Viruses & Malware

Conventional wisdom says email systems are the pipeline of choice for malware distribution. But times have changed, and so too have Internet attack patterns.

In many cases, mass-mailing malware is now inefficient due to the noise it generates as it traverses the Internet. Similar to a sonic boom, the noisy email attacks send echoes across the Web, giving administrators ample time to alert users, lock down networks and mitigate new threats.

Multiple hacker groups are using a "construction kit" supplied by the author of a Trojan horse program discovered last October to develop and unleash more dangerous variants of the original malware.

The man in charge of IT security for the US Homeland Security department may lose his job after the revelations that his department’s IT systems have misconfigured firewalls, suspicious botnet activity, trojans and virus infections.

In response to reports of persistent cybersecurity flaws at the Department of Homeland Security, a top congressional Democrat on Wednesday questioned whether the agency's chief information officer deserves to keep his job.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has become the latest government agency to be used as a front for e-mail attacks.

Email security provider MX Logic said that it had found multiple instances of fraudulent emails claiming to be from an email for the government organization.

The messages notify users that they have filed a complaint with the agency and included a document with a copy of the alleged complaint. Users who open the document are infected with a keylogger that can be used to steal login information and other confidential data.

Are Linux and Mac OS X becoming too popular for their own good?

Security company Symantec said Monday that a new worm is attacking the operating systems, along with Microsoft’s Windows, in what may be the first time this sort of malicious software has been designed to target all three OSes.

Websense has discovered a new crimeware technique on the YouTube video clips website.

When viewed, clips on the site activate a Trojan Horse via a file called “YouTube04567”, which is then downloaded onto the user’s PC.

Hackers have been able to load malware onto the official Mercury music awards site, as well as hundreds of other sites, after breaking into the systems of US-based hosting firm DreamHost.

DreamHost blamed a security flaw in its web control panel software for an attack that allowed hackers to compromise a "very small subset" of user accounts. Affected customers have been notified by email. DreamHost said only web content - not credit card or billing information - was compromised.
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The People's Liberation Army (PLA) continues to build cyberwarfare units and develop viruses to attack enemy computer systems as part of its information-warfare strategy, the US Department of Defense (DOD) has warned.

"The PLA has established information warfare units to develop viruses to attack enemy computer systems and networks," the annual DOD report on China's military warned. At the same, Chinese armed forces are developing ways to protect its own systems from an enemy attack, it said, echoing similar warnings made in previous years.

A new variant of the Stration worm, which has been plaguing Windows users for the past year, has made the jump from Skype to the ICQ and MSN Messenger networks. This latest variant popped up earlier this week, according to Chris Boyd, a researcher at FaceTime Communications, who blogs under the pseudonym "Paperghost."

Sophos is warning computer users about a widely-spammed out email teaser promising a trailer of the film "Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End" - and the chance of free tickets.

The email, which contains the familiar skull-and-crossbones logo of the popular film franchise, appears to have been targeted at movie-goers in Europe and North America.