Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

When Malware Authors Combine Efforts

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the you-don't-like-your-data-anyway dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Spammers, Hackers and virus writers are all teaming up according to some russian security researchers. This means that they reckon that weaknesses will be exploited in a matter of hours of being announced, rather thant the weeks and months that we're seeing now. Scary stuff."

8 of 306 comments (clear)

  1. And just yesterday by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    They couldn't get along!

  2. How many times do I have to tell you? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Get a firewall, block all inbound and outbound traffic, unplug your ethernet cable and shut off your computer. It's that easy to protect yourself.

    1. Re:How many times do I have to tell you? by forrestt · · Score: 5, Funny

      I think you can probably even skip the first couple steps.

  3. Uhm.. You know those russian security experts by Phixxr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is it just me, or does it seem that every story that lists the source as a "Russian Security Expert" is generally a load of crap?

    -Phixxr

    --
    ungggghhhh
  4. I'll from the head! by identity0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hacker: I'll form the head!

    Scammer: I'll form the heart!

    Pornographer: I'll form the right hand!

    Spammer: I'll form the crotch!

    All: Together, we are - ASSHOLETRON!

    (catchy theme music here)

  5. No surprise- by IWantMoreSpamPlease · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Used to be (way back in 2003 or so) AdAware was all you needed (and Norton AV or a workalike)

    But now, man some of the things I've seen are really nasty!

    You wipe 'em out, they come back, they hide from searches, morph into other programs, I've even seen one (I shit you not, I've been in IT for 10+ years, never seen anything like this one!) that was active even when the infected drive was placed as a slave on another machine, it started right up and infected the new PC.

    This goes way beyond simple syware, these people are teaming up and it's just the beginning.

    --
    So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
  6. Et tu, Slashdot? by menkhaura · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Mistaking hacker for cracker is acceptable on the general media, where people aren't very aware of such subtleties. But on Slashdot? C'mon, I know Slashdot is crawling with Windows users, wannabes and such, but this is getting offhand!

    --
    Stupidity is an equal opportunity striker.
    Fellow slashdotter Bill Dog
  7. Jabberwocky! by jaypifer · · Score: 5, Insightful
    "This is why vulnerabilities are so important," said Kaspersky. "We are against anyone who publishes vulnerabilities because it gives hackers a tool."
    And this is why most people are against security by obscurity. Kaspersky is confused. The tired phrase of "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." applies even more pertinently to software vulnerabilities.

    By the time someone with enough motivation (read funding) to write an article on a vulnerability does so, the bad guys have already written exploits. Why? For the same reason...they get paid!

    The published articles allow the moderately tech savvy user to protect themself. Additionally, it forces the software makers' hand to close the vulnerability faster than if they had no pressure at all. Ultimately, this is our only way of shaming large companies into creating proper software and delaying the releases until they've created a more hardened product.

    Yes, hanging out the dirty laundry of vulnerabilities makes it easy for the junior hackers to create something out of nothing, but I'd rather we all know about the problems at the same time than a few sophisticated spam hackers knowing about the problems for an indefinite amount of time.

    --
    Never go to sea with two chronometers; take one or three.