NOW READ THIS
("Security Advisory")
Submitted by: Bill Hickey
NCVA List Master
NRT-0301 Online Videos Can Infect Computers:
As Anti-Spam technology improves, hackers are finding new vehicles
to deliver their malicious code, and some could be embedded in online video players,
according to a report on internet threats released by the Georgia Tech Information
Security Center as it holds its annual summit. The summit is gathering more than
300 scholars and security experts to discuss emerging threats for 2008 - and their
countermeasures. Among their biggest foes are the ever-changing vehicles that hackers
use to deliver "malware," which can silently install viruses, probe for
confidential info or even hijack a computer. With computer users getting wiser to
email scams, malicious hackers are looking for sneakier ways to spread the codes.
Over the past few years, hackers have moved from sending their spam in text-based
messages to more devious means, embedding them in images or disguised as Portable
Document Format, or PDF, files. The researcher said "The next logical step seems
to be the media players." There have been only a few cases of video-related hacking
so far. One worm discovered in November 2006 launches a corrupt website without prompting
after a user opens a media file in a player. Another program silently installs spyware
when a video file is opened. Attakcers have also tried to spread fake video links via
postings on YouTube. That reflects the lowered guard many computer users would have on
such popular forums.
(AP 03OCT07)