Cyber Attackers Use Executables and Modern Microdotting Techniques

Security experts at the recent Infosecurity Europe 2007 warned of simplified hacking attempts and data theft that use un-noticeable executables and the microdot spying technique in an ultra-modern way.

Security experts explained that in the first case the attacker injects an executable malware file in a Word document. If the computer user opens the document it causes the PC to break down and the computer reboots as the malware gets installed.

The technique is rather crafty as anti-virus software fails to detect this type of attack, said Pete Simpson, active manager of Threatlab at Clearswift. Itnews published this in news on April 27, 2007.

The second case involves modification of microdotting, a traditional spying technique. This method snaps information and condenses it to as small as a dot and then pastes it on a Word document.

The microdotting technique uses text boxes in word documents. This text box can hold confidential information and on condensing the box and positioning it on the document it looks like a dot punctuation mark. anti-virus specialists are, however, confident that the existing security systems can spoil the first of the two kinds of attacks.

In this type of attack several Word codes handed down to successors is ready for use. Hostile intelligence bodies and professional criminals choose this attack vector, Simpson added. Itnews published it in news on April 27, 2007.

The attack is very nasty but if systems have the latest updates it is possible to beat it, said David Emm, technology consultant at Kaspersky Labs.

Once the malicious code succeeds to run, its signature file would pick it up. Alternatively the heuristics engine would pick up the malware's actions, Emm added in news that Itnews published on April 27, 2007.

The recently released Kaspersky Labs report says that 2006 was an active year for malware developers and those trying to ward them off. The report also notes that in the same year there was a 41 percent increase in the overall malware programs from 2005. Analysts at Kaspersky reveal that there is a trend in arrival of thousands of new trojans every month.

Related article: Cyber Child abuser Sentenced To Imprisonment

» SPAMfighter News - 5/5/2007