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Hackers Sending Fake Swine Flu Vaccination E-mails

by Amar Toor on December 4, 2009 at 12:45 PM

As swine flu hysteria has gained steam, we've seen plenty of spammers and scammers take to the Web to profit from the paranoia. And now, the latest wolf in swine flu clothing to hit inboxes is a malware scam disguised as an e-mail from the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The e-mail contains information about a so-called 'State Vaccination H1N1 Program,' which requires the recipient to create an online profile on the CDC Web site. AppRiver, though, reports that the link in the mail goes to a fake CDC Web site, where another link to a "profile" is actually a Kryptik Trojan that targets Windows machines.

Once installed, the Trojan creates a security-free gateway on a given PC, and downloads malware that can keep track of your keystrokes and send personal data, like credit card or bank account numbers, to a remote hacker. It can also allow hackers total control over an infected PC. As of Tuesday, reports CNET's Insecurity Complex, more than 18,000 CDC messages were being sent out per minute, including over 1 million in the very first hour.

Soon afterward, another version of the malware came out, this time with a link with a hidden iFrame that directed users to a site hosted in Ukraine. According to Symantec, the iFrame detects whether or not a user is running an unpatched version of Adobe Reader, Acrobat, or Flash Player. If so, it downloads the same malicious file to the system, with the help of an exploit.

We know swine flu is scary... and so do scammers. It only makes sense that they would take advantage of widespread fear to spread their own viruses, and this probably won't be the last time we see something like this. We don't mean to give you something else to worry about as you sanitize your hands for the 40th time today, but just something to keep in mind. The best prevention for any virus -- real or virtual -- is always caution. [From: CNET News]

Tags: cdc, kryptik trojan, KryptikTrojan, malware, safety, security, top, trojan, vaccine

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