Internet Threats Aiming at Mail Links and Sites

The recent report released by MessageLabs for March 2009 reveals that hackers have are using harmful sites and mail links to trigger Internet assaults.

The firm says that the amount of harmful sites that were blocked on account of hosting malware increased by three times during March 2009, with an estimation of around 3,000 harmful sites detected every day. The number of mail borne malware carrying links to harmful sites also touched its maximum level since the month of June in 2008, mounting 16.5% to reach 20.3%.

Also, the report witnessed a sharp increase (around 200%) in harmful sites revolving around the revival in the use of images having infected scripts like VBScript or JavaScript. The report also says that it seems to be attempts to abuse a vulnerability in older browser that attaches the infected script at the end of binary code of the image, which can result in financial rewards through stimulated online ads.

Further, several sites hosting these kinds of images include the sites hosting free images and probably extending to certain sites sharing multimedia files as well as popular social networking sites that enable users to install and exchange pictures.

In addition, malicious links dispatched via mail and residing on hacked sites stand for an increasing share of threat for businesses since several threats are made to private details simply when a user visits an infected website.

The report also informs that during March 2009, the worldwide share of spam in mail traffic from latest and unfamiliar bad sources was 75.7%, a hike of 2.4% from February 2009. The level of spam for Q1 2009 is estimated to be 74.5% as against 71.7% for Q4 of 2008.

The report reveals the economy has been the prime attention of the hackers' unique version of an economic stimulus plan during March 2009.

MessageLabs Intelligence's senior analyst, Symantec, Paul Wood said that after focusing on mail techniques during the latter half of 2008 and beginning of 2009, it is clear that now cyber criminals are aimed towards web related techniques so as to be untraceable. He also adds that their objectives of monetary gains and intelligence remain unchanged, as per the news by MIS-ASIA on March 31, 2009.

Related article: Internet Threat Volumes Overwhelm Security Companies

» SPAMfighter News - 4/3/2009