Clickjacking Attack Hit Facebook

Facebook was targeted by a clickjacking assault, which inflicted the social-networking website during the 3rd week of December 2009. According to security experts, there could be more of such assaults.

In a clickjacking assault, malware or a malevolent web-link is injected into a lawful web-page, which apparently exhibits usual content. Experts warn that this threat has begun to develop.

The Facebook clickjacking assault appeared as a comment posted to the account of a user along with a photograph, which enticed him to hit it. On clicking the link, it led the user to a web-page, which pretended to be a CAPTCHA test. It also prompted him to hit a blue colored button namely "Share" embedded in the Facebook web-page.

But on clicking it, the victim was diverted to a YouTube video appeared on his Facebook account. Consequently, the victim and his contacts were infected. Krzysztof Kotowicz, a freelance security researcher, states that presently the attack is effective merely in Chrome and Firefox Web-browsers, as reported by Help Net Security on December 22, 2009.

Users of Opera and Internet Explorer are not vulnerable.

The reports reveal that Facebook has taken the URL offline, which linked to the malevolent website, fb.59.to. A Facebook spokesperson stated that the problem didn't occur with Facebook alone. However, additional safeguards were established against the behavior so that Facebook systems could be improved. Moreover, the URL for the site had been blocked, the spokesperson added, as reported by Dark Reading on December 23, 2009.

According to security researchers, the concept of clickjacking isn't really new. The attack is very easy to execute and isn't personalized. An increase in its numbers is also expected particularly on social-networking websites, the researchers alerted.

However, to avoid clickjacking, the experts suggested that anytime a "New Pix" posting in association with the fb.59.to was noticed, it mustn't be clicked. It wasn't merely that link as the perpetrator of the current clickjacking assault against Facebook might use more URLs from URL condensers for propagating malicious sites, they added.

Related article: Clickjacking Worm Spreading Fast via Facebook

» SPAMfighter News - 1/2/2010