Cyber Alert: Beware Bogus Disaster Relief Emails & Phishing Scams
- By Grey McKenzie
- Published 06/16/2008
Grey McKenzie
National Cyber Security Founder
Cyber security watchdog & one of the nation's leading cyber security experts, Grey McKenzie is also the Founder of SpyCop Security Software.
His clients include members of the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, CIA, State & Local Law Enforcement.
He is regularly consulted by industry leaders regarding cyber security issues.
To schedule a procedural, technical and non-technical network security audit of your company call 902-467-0200
Unfortunately with all the disasters hitting the US, there are many who will try to profit from other peoples tragedy.
Be on the lookout for these types of phishing emails & phony websites that specifically target these events.
In an excerpt from Dan Kaplan over at SCMag, he explains...
Johannes Ullrich, the center's chief technology officer, told SCMagazineUS.com that he is tracking at least a dozen websites that have been registered with URLs related to the storm -- names such as www[dot]iowafloods[dot]com.
Most are parked, but could become active sites within days, he said.
If they do, chances are the sites will host bogus donation drives -- a phishing technique that first became prominent following Hurricane Katrina and the Asian tsunami, Ullrich said.
These same sites could also be used to house a malicious software attack.
In one possible scenario, unsuspecting users may be lured to a website claiming to contain video of the wicked weather, Ullrich said.
But when they try to install a codec to view the video, victims' machines are slapped with a trojan.
He said he would not be surprised if these emails start spreading around in large numbers thanks to help from a botnet such as the Storm Worm.
Full Story
Be on the lookout for these types of phishing emails & phony websites that specifically target these events.
In an excerpt from Dan Kaplan over at SCMag, he explains...
The twisters and historic floods sweeping across the US will give rise to malicious attacks, the SANS Storm Center warned on Friday.
The deadly twisters that ripped through Kansas this week and the historic floods sweeping through the Upper Midwest will soon give rise to donation scams and malicious attacks, the SANS Storm Center warned on Friday.Johannes Ullrich, the center's chief technology officer, told SCMagazineUS.com that he is tracking at least a dozen websites that have been registered with URLs related to the storm -- names such as www[dot]iowafloods[dot]com.
Most are parked, but could become active sites within days, he said.
If they do, chances are the sites will host bogus donation drives -- a phishing technique that first became prominent following Hurricane Katrina and the Asian tsunami, Ullrich said.
These same sites could also be used to house a malicious software attack.
In one possible scenario, unsuspecting users may be lured to a website claiming to contain video of the wicked weather, Ullrich said.
But when they try to install a codec to view the video, victims' machines are slapped with a trojan.
He said he would not be surprised if these emails start spreading around in large numbers thanks to help from a botnet such as the Storm Worm.
Full Story
