Cyber criminals utilize Twitter, others to spread malware

When using Twitter, be careful where you put your mouse.

In September, microbloggers found themselves redirected to strange websites or tweeting messages they did not type after hovering over a link. They were among the thousands of victims of the onMouseOver virus.

Unlike traditional attacks, where you have to click to be infected, the onMouseOver virus causes trouble just by the user holding their mouse over the dangerous link. No clicking is necessary to infect their computer.

"My Twitter went haywire – absolutely no clue why it sent that message or even what it is ... paging the tech guys," read a tweet from White House press secretary and onMouseOver victim Robert Gibbs.

Meanwhile Sarah Brown, wife of former British prime minister Gordon Brown, found that her Twitter page – which has over a million followers – was redirecting visitors to pornography sites, according to a Sept. 22 Agence France-Presse (AFP) news story.

The attack, which preyed upon a vulnerability previously patched but uncovered again during an update, is yet another reminder that people need to be careful when using social media. A report on global virus activity for the third quarter of 2010 states social media is being used more and more for spreading malware. Infection by email, traditionally the preferred method, is declining.

This has many uneasy. A study of 1,000 businesses in 17 countries showed that 50 per cent were concerned about the security of Web 2.0 applications, such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and web mail. They backed up their worries with six out of 10 businesses saying they suffered an average of $2 million in security related incidents last year.

As far as defending against social networking threats, ParetoLogic's Jerome Segura, leader of the company's Spyware Analysis Team (SWAT), urges caution when dealing with external links. Clicking on these can take you anywhere. If you are taken to a strange site, it is best to shut down your browser immediately. Regular scanning with an anti-virus or anti-spyware solution is also recommended.

Cyber criminals use social engineering to try to trick you into clicking on links to infect your machine. For example, in the summer of 2010 reportedly hundreds of thousands of Facebook users were infected by a clickjacking worm that played upon the popular site's Like feature. It would post text something like "ParetoLogic likes Internet security" with the text after the "like" being a link. Clicking took the user to a blank page that said "Click here to continue," which then published the same message to their Facebook page.

Social networking sites can also be used for phishing schemes. In these situations, you are promoted to click on a link that takes you to a site that looks reputable. However, it is a fake page designed to look like it is from a credit card company, bank or well-known website. You are asked to enter confidential information, which the thieves then use to loot your accounts, fraud or identity theft.

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