USAToday stories
How the proliferation of ’scareware’ fuels cybercrime
June 10, 2009
By Byron Acohido, USA TODAY
Scareware has become the scourge of the Internet.
Find initial version of this article here.
Those deceptive promotions crafted to panic you into spending $30 to $80 for worthless antivirus protection can hit you just about anywhere you turn on the Web. They arrive as booby-trapped Web links in e-mail and social network messages. They lurk hidden, and set to activate, when you click to popular, legitimate websites.
BLOG: …More
How CAPTCHA solvers aid worm spreaders
April 23, 2009
April 23, 2009
By Byron Acohido, USA TODAY
See original version of story here.
SEATTLE – It’s become the new front in cybercrime: scams and identity-theft programs that attack e-mail accounts and users of social-networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.
To carry out many of these automated attacks, cybercriminals first must overcome “captchas,” the distorted letters and characters that users of an e-mail or social-networking account are required to type to complete certain …More
FAQ: The rapid spread of SQL injection attacks
March 17, 2009
A criminal hacker’s epiphany: Why not automate SQL inject attacks and use botnets to launch them?
That stroke of genius dawned on a criminal coder, possibly Chinese, a little less than a year ago. The result: in just 10 months, botnet-driven SQL injection attacks have been used to plant infections on multi-millions of webpages. These infections now lurk in wait for anyone who happens to click to what appears to be …More
Data scams have kicked into high gear as markets tumble
January 29, 2009
By Byron Acohido and Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
Find original copy of this article here.
Cybercriminals have launched a massive new wave of Internet-based schemes to steal personal data and carry out financial scams in an effort to take advantage of the fear and confusion created by tumbling financial markets, security specialists say.
The schemes – often involving online promotions touting fake computer virus protection, get-rich scams and funny or lurid videos …More
Cybercrime experts keep close watch on Internet worm
January 27, 2009
By Byron Acohido, USA TODAY
Find original copy of this article here.
The world’s top virus hunters are watching every move made by the attacker in control of a nasty new Internet worm – referred to as “downadup” or “conficker.”
What worries them most is that the person, or group, controlling the worm could at any time direct the PCs to carry out criminal activities on an unprecedented scale. And there’s not much anyone can do to stop them.
The attackers could use …More
Internet thieves make big money stealing corporate info
November 12, 2008
By Byron Acohido, USA TODAY
Find original copy of his article here.
An innocuous posting appeared on a Houston-based technology company’s internal website on a recent Friday afternoon.
A couple of workers saw it, and obeyed instructions to click on a Web link. The posting seemed trustworthy. It was on an employees-only message board. And the link referenced news about a favorite company charity.
GRAPHIC: Anatomy of a corporate data heist
By clicking on the …More
Some Russian PCs used to cyberattack Georgia
August 17, 2008
USA TODAY
By Byron Acohido, USA TODAY
Aug. 18, 2008
Find original copy of this article here.
Thousands of Russian supporters are volunteering their PCs to be used in cyberattacks against websites supporting the rival state of Georgia.
This new style of cyberwarfare – in which ordinary citizens instantly enlist their PCs to help bedevil the enemy – has caused little damage of substance, security experts say. But it affirms the untapped potential for using the Internet to cause mass confusion for political gain.
“This …More