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Hackers Target Tsunami Search Results

Posted by Soulskill on from the bandwagon-has-arrived dept.

xsee writes "Only hours after the earthquake and resulting tsunami from Chile, hackers began manipulating search results to direct people seeking information on the event to infected webpages. Exercise caution as to where you get information on this tragedy. Chester Wisniewski describes what happened after he saw a suspicious site listed second on a Google search: 'It appears to be a normal website with information and videos about different Asian tsunamis over the past few years. It is difficult to tell whether this particular page was SEO-optimized, or was an innocent victim of a malicious script. SophosLabs got back to me that this page contains some obfuscated malicious JavaScript that we detect as MAL/ObfJS-R. This script was appended after the normal code on the page.'"

5 of 57 comments (clear)

  1. Sick? by ilovegeorgebush · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Not only do I think this is a little sick on the part of the blackhats, but it does pose some other concerns.

    Firstly, are the media going to pick up on this and if they do, will they spin it as an opportunity to bad-mouth the Web and its communities, as well as encourage talk of "tougher rules" and the like.

    Since this is a JS vulnerability, I'd certainly like to see more discussion and thought around how seriously we take JS integration on the web and how we approach it as a core target for evil-doers to exploit. Could more be done?

    Lastly, how are the web search engines going to react? Could more things like this call for censorship of Google, Yahoo etc; or at least more claims for 'responsibility of the search engines'?

    --
    ilovegeorgebush
    1. Re:Sick? by geekmux · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not only do I think this is a little sick on the part of the blackhats, but it does pose some other concerns.

      No real surprise there. Morality is waaaay down the Blackhat list, well below "money" and "power".

      Firstly, are the media going to pick up on this and if they do, will they spin it as an opportunity to bad-mouth the Web and its communities, as well as encourage talk of "tougher rules" and the like.

      Yes, and it's rather unfortunate that the media has about as much accuracy on the subject as the National Enquirer does reporting fact.

      Since this is a JS vulnerability, I'd certainly like to see more discussion and thought around how seriously we take JS integration on the web and how we approach it as a core target for evil-doers to exploit. Could more be done?

      Never gonna happen. Java/JRE/JS is the holy grail of environments when it comes to cross-OS integration, and it's not like other options (flash) are devoid of their vulns. Besides, it's always a risk/reward for companies, and a company will generally never take Security over Revenue.

      Lastly, how are the web search engines going to react? Could more things like this call for censorship of Google, Yahoo etc; or at least more claims for 'responsibility of the search engines'?

      What you're asking from the search engines would pretty much be the death of them. I'd much rather have products like AVG warn me in search engine results, or rely on better browser protection rather than censor my results.

  2. Disgusting by whisper_jeff · · Score: 2, Insightful

    When criminal greed crosses the line to utter malice, it's a sign that someone needs to encounter some righteous justice. Some people just deserve a beating.

    1. Re:Disgusting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      As annoying as these are, a reasonable combination of browser and security suite, and some common sense, are enough to stop this from getting to be much more than that.

      I find much more disgusting the websites that open up claiming to be for whatever relief aid - when in reality they're largely just sites run by crooks pocketing the money for themselves. Not just because they defraud people, but because they are poisoning the well; any indy site that really does send donations, parts of profits/proceeds of sales, etc. to proper relief aid funds, are met by cynism.

      Even worse are the 'missionaries'.

  3. Same thing happend with Joannie Rochette by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    After Joannie Rochettes short program, I googled it because I missed it. Literally the first 2 pages or so of results were 90% dummy sites with malicious payloads.

    This isn't new at all. EVERY time a popular search pops up, these douchebags try to game the results to get their pages on the first page.