Hackers use Natasha Richardson news to spread fake anti-virus software

Hackers are using the news of actress Natasha Richardson's death to spread malicious fake anti-virus products.

Links are appearing on search engine results due to hackers filling the descriptions with keywords. The web pages contain content taken from legitimate sites related to Richardson's death. One link has been identified by Sophos as containing a Trojan detected as Troj/Reffor-A that runs a fake anti-virus product designed to scare the user into making an unwise purchase.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, said: “Speed is everything for cybercriminals keen to create a page that will show up highly in search engine results. The hackers know that more people will be searching for information about the 45-year-old actress today than, say, in two weeks time.

“Next time you hear about a breaking news story, it might be wiser to visit an established news website like the BBC, CNN or Sydney Morning Herald, rather than using a search engine which might take you to a keyword-stuffed site harbouring malware.”

See original article on scmagazineus.com