Valentine's Day "Storm
Worm" Virus Coming
...And the Storm Worm
strikes again. Like a
computerized Tet
Offensive, the team
behind the now infamous
Storm Worm uses holidays
as an excuse to launch
attacks on unsuspecting
e-mailers.
Christmas, New Year's,
and now the computer
criminals are prepping
for an electronic
Valentine's Day
massacre.
The nature of
Valentine's Day may make
the attack much less
effective.
New Year's and Christmas
are holidays in which
people often reach out
to family and friends
they don't speak to on a
regular basis, where as
Valentine's tends to be
celebrated privately by
couples.
The attack is also not
very sophisticated and
can be easily thwarted
by even the least
computer savvy of users.
The worm presents itself
in the form of an e-mail
with a Valentine's Day
subject and a body
consisting of a simple
IP address. Clicking on
the IP address takes you
to a page that displays
a heart and the message
"your download should
begin shortly." If your
download doesn't
automatically start it
instructs you to click a
download link and run
the file.
The attack probably
won't be as successful
or as widespread as past
outbreaks, but some sad
lovers are sure to be
infected.
Mario Zaragoza, a
spokesperson for the
Radiografica
Costarricense (Racsa),
advises not to open
emails with attachments
even from people you
know. |
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