Football fans anticipating the upcoming 2014 World Cup were advised to be wary of a fresh wave of malware attacks exploiting the excitement over the sporting event.
Kaspersky Lab said the attacks appear to target netizens searching for videos or match results of the FIFA World Cup, which starts June 12 and ends July 13.
"The cyberattacks have continued as the tournament approaches," Kaspersky Lab expert Fabio Assolini said in a blog post.
Assolini said previous attacks had included fake domains selling fake tickets, fake giveaways, and phishing and malware campaigns that targeted credit cards.
Some attacks have become "professional" as cybercriminals now use digitally signed malware, he said.
Other tools they use include a breached customer database used for online ticket sales, SSL-certified phishing domains and a lot of social engineering.
"All the attacks had the same goal: to infect your machine and steal your money," he said.
Presently, Assolini said some Brazilian phishers are registering domains with names of well-known local brands, usually credit card companies, banks, and online stores.
They used the names of credit card brands, or Brazilian TV hosts.
"In Brazil alone, we’re detecting and blocking on average about 50-60 domains like this per day," he said.
On the other hand, he said phishers have gone one step further, registering domains and buying SSL certificates from Certification Authorities such as Comodo, EssentialSSL, Starfield, and Register.com, to give phishing domains a "verified" SSL certificate.
"The phishers also prepared fraudulent pages in mobile format, so they can steal data from users even if they click the link on their smartphone," he said.
Social engineering
Assolini said prospective victims have received messages claiming they have won tickets to a World Cup match, but have to print the ticket. The messages contain links that point to a digitally-signed Brazilian Trojan banker.
Other victims have received personalized emails supposedly sent by a well-known online ticket sales system. The message pointed to a website where the victim is asked to download a file "that turns out to be a Trojan banker."
Don't trust messages
Meanwhile, Assolini advised fans planning to travel to Brazil for the World Cup or following it online to be secure.
"Don’t trust any messages you receive, and double-check before clicking links," he said. -- Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News
Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/362863/scitech/technology/warning-out-vs-world-cup-malware
Kaspersky Lab said the attacks appear to target netizens searching for videos or match results of the FIFA World Cup, which starts June 12 and ends July 13.
"The cyberattacks have continued as the tournament approaches," Kaspersky Lab expert Fabio Assolini said in a blog post.
Assolini said previous attacks had included fake domains selling fake tickets, fake giveaways, and phishing and malware campaigns that targeted credit cards.
Some attacks have become "professional" as cybercriminals now use digitally signed malware, he said.
Other tools they use include a breached customer database used for online ticket sales, SSL-certified phishing domains and a lot of social engineering.
"All the attacks had the same goal: to infect your machine and steal your money," he said.
Presently, Assolini said some Brazilian phishers are registering domains with names of well-known local brands, usually credit card companies, banks, and online stores.
They used the names of credit card brands, or Brazilian TV hosts.
"In Brazil alone, we’re detecting and blocking on average about 50-60 domains like this per day," he said.
On the other hand, he said phishers have gone one step further, registering domains and buying SSL certificates from Certification Authorities such as Comodo, EssentialSSL, Starfield, and Register.com, to give phishing domains a "verified" SSL certificate.
"The phishers also prepared fraudulent pages in mobile format, so they can steal data from users even if they click the link on their smartphone," he said.
Social engineering
Assolini said prospective victims have received messages claiming they have won tickets to a World Cup match, but have to print the ticket. The messages contain links that point to a digitally-signed Brazilian Trojan banker.
Other victims have received personalized emails supposedly sent by a well-known online ticket sales system. The message pointed to a website where the victim is asked to download a file "that turns out to be a Trojan banker."
Don't trust messages
Meanwhile, Assolini advised fans planning to travel to Brazil for the World Cup or following it online to be secure.
"Don’t trust any messages you receive, and double-check before clicking links," he said. -- Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News
Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/362863/scitech/technology/warning-out-vs-world-cup-malware
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