Hackers Zero In on Execs With World Cup Scam

Few events galvanize the attention of world the way next week’s FIFA World Cup soccer tournament will and malware purveyors are a variety of new tactics to capitalize on its mass popularity.

As eSecurity Planet reports, the latest World Cup-related malware scam features unsolicited e-mails promising match schedules and other information of interest to fans of one of the few truly international sporting spectacles around.

After first cutting their teeth on some pretty basic and largely ineffective come-ons, hackers have raised the stakes by cutting-and-pasting legitimate World Cup material, incorporated .pdf and .exe exploits and have initiated repeated attacks on executives at companies and international organizations.

This increased intensity combined with more complex and better-concealed malware traps show that when it comes to the World Cup, hackers are trying to score a few goals of their own.

With the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament less than two weeks away, hackers are stepping up their efforts to use one of the most important global sporting events to infect Internet users with malware and steal personal information.

According to security software vendor Symantec, malware attacks using the 32-nation soccer extravaganza as a lure have become increasingly sophisticated and are targeting top executives at international manufacturing firms and inter-governmental agencies.

This type of targeted and socially engineered malware isn’t new. Data thieves have been barnstorming the Internet with World Cup-related scams since March.

Read the full story at eSecurity Planet:


World Cup Malware Targets Top Execs