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Malware writers figured out long ago that infection rates go up when you target current trends. Potential victims who aren't particularly computer savvy tend to let their guard down when an email arrives related to current events, and with the London Olympics less than two months away, malware writers are getting a head start by sending out malicious Olympic themed emails.
According to F-Secure, a malicious PDF is making the rounds on the back of Olympic emails. The PDF exploits CVE-2010-2883, which is a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability found in outdated versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat.
"A typical PDF exploit will launch a clean decoy as part of its attack, and in this case, the decoy is a copy of the London 2012 Olympic schedule circa October 2010," F-Secure explains.
As always, downloading and clicking on attachments from unknown sources is asking for trouble, and you should be careful of any unexpected email attachment, regardless of whether it came from one your contacts or a stranger. Of course, we're preaching to the choir here, but if nothing else, you may want to give your family and friends a heads up before they ring through and ask you to fix their PC.
Comments are closed on this article
Joji
May 29, 2012 at 11:17am
Remember Beijing Olympics? Tear down surrounding villages -> waste money to reconstruct surrounding area -> make it look good for those coming for opening ceremony -> ??? -> profit!
Can't be helped.
Ghok
May 29, 2012 at 10:36am
I will never ever see that logo as anything more than Lisa Simpson giving a blowjob.
