Internet hackers have begun distributing a new virus through emails with anti-China subject headings. From the Economic Times India:
Harbouring anti-national sentiment may land net users in deep trouble. Hackers have found it an easy tool to persuade Internet subscribers to visit malicious websites, which may lead to loss of important data and other phishing activities.
The latest example is hatred among some communities against China and their demand to not hold the Olympic games there. Internet security agency Websense Security Labs has discovered a new storm worm social-engineering tactic, capitalising on the recent global attention around the upcoming Olympics, to be held in China.
These malicious sites speculate that the upcoming Olympics in Beijing would be “under the threat of failure” because of recent earthquake in China, and then tricks visitors to click on what looks like an embedded flash video player, that really leads to the download of a malicious executable. Users that open this file will have their desktop infected with a Trojan. The US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) has also reported this on their website.
Websense Security Labs displays what the malicious message looks like:
“A new and powerful disaster just occurred in China. The most deadly, 9 magnitude, earthquake took away millions of lives in the heart of China, Beijing. Rapidly growing panic paralyzed life of Chinese capital. 2008 Olympic Games are under threat of failure. Click on the video to see details of this terrible disaster and choose either “Open” or “Run.”
The U.S. CERT website lists various titles of that the message might appear under, including:
– The most powerful quake hits China
– Countless victims of earthquake in China
– Death toll in China is growing
– Recent earthquake in china took a heavy toll
– Recent china earthquake kills million
– China is paralyzed by new earthquake
– Death toll in China exceeds 1000000
– A new powerful disaster in China
– A new deadly catastrophe in China
– 2008 Olympic Games are under the threat
– China’s most deadly earthquake
