Save & Share2009 Press Releases
The Top Ten Summer Threats
School is out, the summer holidays have been here for some time and while the summer hasn’t so far been living up to its promise, many are enjoying time off from work, spending time at concerts, shopping, travelling and catching up with friends.
Data released from TrendLabs, Trend Micro’s global threat research and support organisation, today reveals that cybercriminals are taking advantage of some of these activities by tailoring their scams towards some of these.
The top ten summer 2009 threats feature:
10. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is - discount Hunter Traps
Discounts and special bargains are a common feature of summer time with retailers counting on shoppers spending more time looking for the best deals. These bargains are also a popular tool for malware writers to lure users into clicking on malicious links, buying goods from specifically crafted fake websites and often making products seem irresistible to buyers. Recent cases include:
TROJ_AYFONE.A - this Trojan displayed fake advertisements about the then newly released Apple iPhone, as well as a fake website of an online store where it can be bought.
http://blog.trendmicro.com/bogus-msn-spam-features-malicious-software/
9. Trojans aboard - fake travel deals and airline notifications
Booking tickets online is more convenient and often quicker than through local travel agencies. Cybercriminals have long been leveraging this consumer convenience by creating tailored spam messages to phish for credit card information. Some of these scams have so far included:
http://blog.trendmicro.com/spoofed-delta-airlines-contains-malware/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/your-eticket-makes-a-worm-fly/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/flying-phish/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/trojan-aboard-laoairlines/
8. E-commerce phishing attacks
With millions of unique online audiences, eBay is one of the most popular online retailers and also a top phished website. Online shoppers are a primary target for information theft with cybercriminals continuously weaving sophisticated schemes to extort user information for financial gain, including:
http://blog.trendmicro.com/hit-and-run-by-doppelgangers/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/whats-the-worst-that-can-happen/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/missing-tag-foils-compromise/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/paypal%e2%80%99s-10th-year-anniversary-phished/
Cyber criminals were also found able to fake a good reputation on eBay through ratings manipulation.
7. Seasonal scams
Major sporting and holiday events have regularly been exploited by cybercriminals:
http://blog.trendmicro.com/waledac-celebrates-independence-day-too/
6. Malicious files
During the summer, consumers spend more time online downloading files. While the exchange of a majority of movies, TV episodes, music and software over P2P constitute piracy, its persistence nevertheless lures more users into the practice. The danger with these sites is that users are typically not aware of the veracity of files they are downloading. This has been the case in the following attacks:
http://blog.trendmicro.com/cybercriminals-launch-tainted-windows-7-rc/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/mac-trojan-hidden-beneath-pirated-iwork-09/
5. Summer movies – cybercriminals are watching you
For most countries, the summer season is the time to lay back and relax—watching movies is one such leisure activity. Big-budget and blockbuster movies are also often slated for release in summer because larger audiences are expected to flock theaters then. This in fact happened in the previous years:
http://blog.trendmicro.com/free-malware-passes-for-italian-harry-potter-fans/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/25/pirates_trojan/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/lust-caution-steam-builds-on/
4. News and viral videos
Students on holiday with more time on their hands typically spend more time online to stay up to date with notable events. Cybercriminals thus take advantage of students’ boredom, luring them to click links to fake news reports or videos, to infect their systems, including scams like:
http://blog.trendmicro.com/solar-eclipse-2009-in-america-leads-to-fakeav/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/michael-jackson-video-leads-to-malware-download/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/italy-political-controversy-spam/
3. Searching… for you
News, new movie releases and juicy gossip are popular searches for people who want to always be ‘in the know’. Cybercriminals are increasingly creating poised search results related to the hottest news in order to direct consumers to malicious websites with recent scams, such as:
http://blog.trendmicro.com/blackhat-seo-quick-to-abuse-farrah-fawcett-death/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/spammers-ride-on-h1n1-global-pandemic/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/search-results-for-air-france-flight-447-lead-to-rogue-antivirus/
2. High-traffic websites
High traffic websites over the summer holidays typically include those of travel agents, hotels, shopping sites and others which draw people into last minute deals and discounts. In order to target as many potential victims as possible, cybercriminals are also trooping to these sites, following the crowd as it seems. Below are examples of such scams:
http://blog.trendmicro.com/massive-sql-injection-ensues/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/a-worrying-trend-of-compromised-web-sites/
1. Social threatworking
The summer season is also a popular time to connect with friends and family. As this is frequently done via social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Bebo and others – these sites are an extremely popular platform for cybercriminals to hijack accounts, steal identities and create tailored scams, for example:
http://blog.trendmicro.com/rogue-dns-leads-to-bogus-russian-social-network-sites/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/koobface-tweets/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/bogus-facebook-malware-and-a-dancing-girl/
Lisätietoja saat ottamalla yhteyttä:
Trend Micro
Harri Kaikkonen
Suomen myynnistä vastaava myyntipäällikkö
+ 358 (0)9 4730 8301 tai 040 527 0266
harri_kaikkonen(ät)trendmicro.com
Carsten Carlsson, Firefly Communications
+46 709 56 38 74
carsten.carlsson(ät)fireflycomms.com
Esittelyssä Trend Micro
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