Google Says The Scope Of Drive-by Malware Is 'Significant'

How ironic that Google allows you to initiate a Web search by clicking on a button labeled "I'm Feeling Lucky." The button is supposed to take you to the first Web site that turns up in your search. Instead, it just might take you to malware hell.

In a preliminary report issued by Google in early February (see All Your iFrames Point to Us in the Google blog), researchers reveal the depth of the worldwide malware problem and conclude “the scope of the problem is significant.” This isn’t news if you’ve ever have to clean up the mess left behind after a malware infection. But if you’re feeling fairly confident that you do enough to protect yourself and the other users on your network, this report should open your eyes to the real world, and it’s not pretty.

New Weapon Against Drive-by Downloads Emerges

As more employees visit social networking sites while at work, network managers are seeing a rise in accidental malware infections known as drive-by download attacks.

Cybersecurity researchers trying to stop users from inadvertently compromising their machines have come up with a novel idea: Give them PCs running virtual machine software so they can act as sensors that detect malware infections and prevent them from infecting enterprise networks.

The idea was developed by George Mason University's Center for Secure Information Systems (CSIS) in conjunction with Northrup Grumman Information Systems.

This PCs-as-sensors approach was outlined at the Cyber Infrastructure Protection Conference held at the City College of New York last Friday.

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ATM Malware Spreading Around The World

Cash machines around the world are hosting malware that can harvest a person's card details for use in fraud, a situation that could worsen as the malware becomes more sophisticated, according to a security researcher.

Analysts at Trustwave's SpiderLabs research group were surprised earlier this year when it obtained the ATM malware sample from a financial institution in Eastern Europe, said Andrew Henwood, vice president of SpiderLabs's Europe, Middle East and Africa operation. Trustwave does forensic investigations for major credit card companies and financial institutions as well as penetration tests.

"It's the first time we have come across malware of this type," Henwood said.

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Cyber Criminals Target Travelers

FBI: Guests' Data Collected When They Log Into Hotel Wi-Fi Overseas
(CNN) -- A recent warning from the FBI about hackers targeting guests' data when they log into hotel Wi-Fi overseas was a salient reminder to travelers of the risks to data security on the road.

The alert, from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, was addressed to U.S. executives, government workers and academics but did not specify a particular country of threat. It warned of a spate of incidents of travelers encountering bogus software update pop-ups when they used hotel internet connections overseas. When they clicked on the "update," malicious software was installed on their computer.

Hotel Wi-Fi connections are particularly risky, said Sian John, UK security strategist at Symantec, because they are often set up without proper security settings. But they are merely one data-security threat among many facing business travelers.

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Anonymous Attack Brings Down Tons Of GoDaddy Sites

Today is not a good for those working behind the scenes at GoDaddy. TechCruch is reporting that an Anonymous member has brought GoDaddy down and, by extension, has brought down many of the sites GoDaddy hosts. Apparently, the attack was carried out by someone going by the name of “AnonymousOwn3r” on Twitter, and he says that he worked alone in bringing the website hosting service down.

FBI Director: Cybercrime Will Eclipse Terrorism

"Today, terrorists have not used the Internet to launch a full-scale cyberattack, but we cannot underestimate their intent," he said. In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, the FBI invested heavily to develop new skill sets and formed more than 100 joint anti-terrorism task forces with other government agencies, military branches and local law enforcement organizations.

Reference: Cybercrime Will Eclipse Terrorism