Security experts are currently warning about a new virus being spread through emails that falsely report the death of President Slobodan Milosevic.
These emails typically have the subject line “Slobodan Milosevic was killed” (President Slobodan Milosevic has been assassinated). Users are encouraged to open a fake file claiming to be a “photo” of the assassination evidence against Mr. Milosevic.
However, if users open the attached file—often a self-extracting UPZ compressed file—a Trojan known as Dropper-FB will infiltrate their computers. This is a type of “downloader” Trojan.
As of this morning, online security firm BlackSpider estimates that over 800,000 emails containing this new Trojan have been sent across the internet before security companies could update their antivirus software.
The Dropper-FB Trojan serves as a new example of how malware authors increasingly exploit social events to achieve their sinister objectives.
In the past, disasters such as the 2004 Asian tsunami and the July 2005 terrorist attack in the UK were also exploited by malware authors to spread viruses, computer worms, and Trojans.
Moreover, fake malware offering images of the death of international terrorist leader Osama bin Laden (Small-AXR Trojan) or former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (Bobax-H worm) has been continuously released in recent months. Even celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Anna Kournikova have joined this unfortunate list.
James Kay, a senior technology expert at BlackSpider Technologies, commented: “Malware authors are tapping into users’ curiosity to benefit themselves.”
Hoàng Dũng
