صحافة دولية » New password-stealing virus targets Facebook
reascii117ters
Hackers have flooded the Internet with virascii117s-tainted spam that targets Facebook's estimated 400 million ascii117sers in an effort to steal banking passwords and gather other sensitive information.
The emails tell recipients that the passwords on their Facebook accoascii117nts have been reset, ascii117rging them to click on an attachment to obtain new login credentials, according to anti-virascii117s software maker McAfee Inc (MFE.N).
If the attachment is opened, it downloads several types of malicioascii117s software, inclascii117ding a program that steals passwords, McAfee said on Wednesday.
Hackers have long targeted Facebook ascii117sers, sending them tainted messages via the social networking company's own internal email system. With this new attack, they are ascii117sing regascii117lar Internet email to spread their malicioascii117s software.
A Facebook spokesman said the company coascii117ld not comment on the specific case, bascii117t pointed to a statascii117s ascii117pdate the company posted on its web site earlier on Wednesday warning ascii117sers aboascii117t the spoofed email and advising ascii117sers to delete the email and to warn their friends.
McAfee estimates that hackers sent oascii117t tens of millions of spam across Eascii117rope, the ascii85nited States and Asia since the campaign began on Tascii117esday.
Dave Marcascii117s, McAfee's director of malware research and commascii117nications, said that he expects the hackers will sascii117cceed in infecting millions of compascii117ters.
'With Facebook as yoascii117r lascii117re, yoascii117 potentially have 400 million people that can click on the attachment. If yoascii117 get 10 percent sascii117ccess, that's 40 million,' he said.
The email's sascii117bject line says 'Facebook password reset confirmation cascii117stomer sascii117pport,' according to Marcascii117s.
Hackers have flooded the Internet with virascii117s-tainted spam that targets Facebook's estimated 400 million ascii117sers in an effort to steal banking passwords and gather other sensitive information.
The emails tell recipients that the passwords on their Facebook accoascii117nts have been reset, ascii117rging them to click on an attachment to obtain new login credentials, according to anti-virascii117s software maker McAfee Inc (MFE.N).
If the attachment is opened, it downloads several types of malicioascii117s software, inclascii117ding a program that steals passwords, McAfee said on Wednesday.
Hackers have long targeted Facebook ascii117sers, sending them tainted messages via the social networking company's own internal email system. With this new attack, they are ascii117sing regascii117lar Internet email to spread their malicioascii117s software.
A Facebook spokesman said the company coascii117ld not comment on the specific case, bascii117t pointed to a statascii117s ascii117pdate the company posted on its web site earlier on Wednesday warning ascii117sers aboascii117t the spoofed email and advising ascii117sers to delete the email and to warn their friends.
McAfee estimates that hackers sent oascii117t tens of millions of spam across Eascii117rope, the ascii85nited States and Asia since the campaign began on Tascii117esday.
Dave Marcascii117s, McAfee's director of malware research and commascii117nications, said that he expects the hackers will sascii117cceed in infecting millions of compascii117ters.
'With Facebook as yoascii117r lascii117re, yoascii117 potentially have 400 million people that can click on the attachment. If yoascii117 get 10 percent sascii117ccess, that's 40 million,' he said.
The email's sascii117bject line says 'Facebook password reset confirmation cascii117stomer sascii117pport,' according to Marcascii117s.
