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Fake Barack Obama Sites Contain Malware
Mike Sachoff
Staff Writer
2009-01-19
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PandaLabs says it has detected 40 Web sites that are using Barack Obama, President-elect of the United States, as bait to spread malware.
These pages contain the headline: "Barack Obama has refused to be President." If users try to read the article a dialog box appears asking them to download a file.
However, if they do, a number of malicious files will have access to their computers. These files turn the affected computer into a "zombie" computer, remotely controlled by cyber-criminals. An image of the fake Obama Web site can be viewed here.
"These zombie computers are normally networked to form 'botnets', as the malicious code that allows remotely controlling them is called a 'bot'," explains Ryan Sherstobitoff, chief corporate evangelist, Panda Security.
"Botnets are then hired by cyber-crooks to third-parties that use zombie computers with malicious purposes such as sending spam or launching denial of service attacks."
PandaLabs says the attack appears to have originated from China, as all domains have been bought to a Chinese company with a long history of malware attacks.
This is not the first time that Barack Obama has been used by cyber criminals to spread malware. Even during the presidential campaign and the days after the election, fake news stories circulated that led to malware downloads.
About the Author:
Mike is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.
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