The intense public interest surrounding Usama bin Laden is the perfect vehicle for Internet scams and malware, the FBI warned Tuesday, issuing an official warning to “exercise” caution online.
One common piece of malware spreading rapidly on the Internet purports to show photos or videos of bin Laden’s killing. Clicking on these links can wreak havoc on some users’ machines, the agency warned.
“This malicious software or 'malware' can embed itself in computers and spread to users’ contact lists, thereby infecting the systems of associates, friends, and family members,” the FBI said in a statement. “These viruses are often programmed to steal your personally identifiable information.”
Security firms have also been warning of the potential uptick in dangerous spam, citing similar malware episodes in 2004, 05 and 06 -- all related to Bin Laden news.
“News targeting famous/notorious personalities are often used in scams,” Symantec explained on its official blog. “At this moment, we at Symantec Probe Network are observing a huge inflow of legitimate messages carrying links to the news. However, in all likelihood, there will be an increase in spam volume targeting this news.”
Leading security firm Kaspersky Lab began detecting spam e-mail campaigns and Web pages built specifically to game the major search engines within hours of the first reports of his death in a firefight with U.S. forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
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