21. September 2009 14:09
Reports from IT security vendor PandaLabs indicate a new variation of an old theme. A group of cybercrooks was offering their hacking services on Facebook. For a reported $100, a potential hacker could purchase information how to hack a specific Facebook account. But it looks like the purchase is a bogus one, and potential hackers are scammed. It’s a new variation on the effective social engineering tactic – this time aimed to scam the scammer.
Criminal hackers keep on finding new ways to increase their revenue streams while avoiding detection. The harvesting of credit cards from end users has been around for some time, as our Malicious Code Research Centre has been reporting.
Cybercrooks keep on diversifying their activities, similar to the way legitimate business owners and entrepreneurs are trying to weather the current economic downturn. We are therefore expecting more and more variations of hacker attacks and frauds. Cybercrime gangs keep on stepping up their criminal activities, and finding new methods to defraud Internet users.
As pointed out by Sukhdev Singh, a senior security consultant and IBM ISS/X-Force expert, the Internet has taken on the characteristics of the Wild West where no one is to be trusted.
Where will it end? Nobody knows, but one thing is for sure. We can expect increasing ingenuity and diversity from the criminal hacker fraternity.
At Finjan, our MCRC will keep on reporting on the latest scams. In the mean time, we advise Internet users to keep their IT security software up to date and fully patched.
When using social websites such as Facebook and Twitter, you might opt to protect your Web browsing activities with Finjan’s free http://securebrowsing.finjan.com.
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