Monday, November 12, 2007

Hackers threaten MySpace users

Singer Alicia Keys’ MySpace account was recently hacked, and anyone who clicked on her page was in danger of having their computer overrun by malware.  When MySpace fixed the problem, the site was promptly hacked again.  To make matters worse, Keys’ site wasn’t the only one affected—a group of Russian hackers is targeting MySpace accounts belong to bands, thus exposing hundreds of thousands of fans to their exploit.

The hackers change the MySpace sites by placing an 8,000 by 1,000 pixel map over the main account page.  Any click which misses its intended target link automatically clicks the overlay, and the user is redirected to a site which prompts them to download a fake codec if they want to view videos.  The installation actually consists of a number of exploits, including rootkits and DNS changers.  Even users who don’t click on any links can be infected just by visiting a MySpace page if their browsers don’t have all the latest security patches.

While most of the MySpace pages have been repaired, some of the exploits have reoccured.  MySpace has made a public statement saying they’ve repaired hacked pages, but haven’t made any statements about whether they’ve repaired, or even detected, the vulnerability which allowed these hacks in the first place.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 11/12 at 05:49 AM
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