Email targeted attacks, oldies but goodies and hackers always choose something that is in popular worldwide news, such as the Olympics and all the drama regarding the torch relays in certain locations.  MessageLabs has revealed new research showing 13 separate Olympic themed attacks.

Subject lines such as "The Bejing 2008 Torch Relay" and "National Olympic Committee and Ticket Sales" with some claiming to be from the International Olympic Committee based in Switzerland but were really sent from somewhere in the Asian Pacific region.

Alex Shipp, MessageLabs Senior Anti Virus Technologist and Imagineer issued a warning to businesses,

"These attacks are highly targeted at organizations that have highly confidential and valuable data, such as military and government bodies. Presuming that you haven’t been targeted isn’t proof that you haven’t. The malicious EXE file can remain undetected for several months so it may be that your organization has been penetrated and crucial information has already leaked. Businesses need to up their game and fortify themselves against a dangerous new breed of hacker, Hacker 3.0, who is prepared to stop at nothing to achieve their goal."

If there’s news about the Olympics in your inbox, best to leave it be and look it up on your favorite news site.

Related:

Entry was posted on Thursday, April 24th, 2008 at 8:11 am under Internet, Security.

Read more entries by Jonathan Schlaffer.
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