Twitter becoming 'security nightmare'
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2 June 2009 |
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The latest attack to hit Twitter is a "security nightmare" and marks the first time hackers have taken to using the micro-blogging site for profit, a researcher said today.
Unlike earlier cross-site scripting attacks on Twitter, the latest wasn't a worm, said Roel Schouwenberg, a senior antivirus researcher with Moscow-based Kaspersky Labs.
Instead, it's something even scarier: The first instance of hackers serving up "scareware," fake security software that, once installed, nags users with so many alerts that some fork over $50 or more just to "register" the program and get rid of the warnings.
"This is just another scareware installer," Schouwenberg said, referring to the malware that's downloaded onto victimized PCs. "There's no worm component. But it's quite significant as it's the first time that Twitter's been used for a traditional type of attack."
Over the weekend, Twitter users began receiving tweets with the phrase "Best Video" and a link to a Russian domain. Although those who clicked on the li ...
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