Social Media Center

In a recent blog post on CNET, Elinor Mills warns readers of how a major news event like Osama bin Laden’s death has provided an avenue of profit for online scammers. Within hours of the first breaking news, scams and malicious links on Facebook began to rear their ugly heads alongside malware that popped up on sites that were primed and optimized to be in web searches related to bin Laden’s death.

Mills highlights Websense® Security Labs™ research that was conducted on recent attacks surrounding bin Laden’s death. The Labs discovered that a Pakistan-based tweeter who was live-tweeting the U.S. raid garnered over 60,000 followers and as a result of his surge in popularity, found his blog compromised by malicious attacks.

Patrik Runald, senior manager of security research at Websense Security Labs was quoted in the article:

“Visitors to the blog would not immediately have noticed anything as the malware was installed as a drive-by download without the visitor having to do anything.”

Hm. Does this strike you as reminiscent of Lizamoon just earlier last month? Remember, even the most popular sites can fall to malicious attacks at any time. Huge news like the bin Laden death have only made it easier for hackers to find their way to high-traffic sites that may not have the proper protection from modern security threats.

Stay cautious when browsing the web for information, particularly when the topic is a big one. It’s best to know before you go – check out AceInsight.com to make sure that you’re not putting you or your organization’s information at risk.

In a new post on All Things Digital, writer Arik Hesseldahl bemoans the cyber consequences of tweeting while witnessing historical events. Hesseldahl refers to the unfortunate hacked site of Sohaid Atha, who live-tweeted descriptions of the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden without even really knowing what was going on. While it wasn’t a specific individual who launched the attack, an automated process kicked in as a result of locating a surge in traffic to Atha’s site.

 Hesseldahl recounts his interview with Patrik Runald, Websense® Security Labs™ Senior Manager.

“ Patrik Runald, a Websense security researcher, said that sometime overnight, the increase in attention on Atha’s Twitter feed, which contains a link to his blog, R____l.com, was compromised and was as of this morning serving up malware.”

In addition to this attack, there’s some malvertising appearing on Facebook in regards to Osama bin Laden’s death, promising bogus footage of his death. Users are warned to stay away from clicking on these links. Want to find a way to protect yourself on Facebook? Scan it with Defensio.

The Chicago Tribune released an article yesterday covering the recent spike in internet scams and cybercrimes surrounding Osama bin Laden’s death. As the world scrambled for more information via the web, scammers have been taking advantage of the unsuspecting clicking on malicious links and exploit kits.

The Tribune highlights the Websense® Security Labs™ for discovering that cybercriminals compromised the website of Sohaib Athar, a high-profile tweeter living in Abbottabad who documented a real-time account of the US raid. Users clicking into his site through his linked Twitter account were exposed to malicious code that would install malware onto their computers.

What’s significant about this attack is that even the most popular, high-traffic sites can turn malicious instantly. The threat landscape is constantly evolving and organizations need to be on their toes to prevent these attacks with modern security solutions. When searching the news, be cautious even though it seems like you’re visiting a well-respected site. Remember in 2010, Websense Security Labs reported that 79.9 percent of websites with malicious code were legitimate sites that have been compromised.