IT security and control firm Sophos has advised computer users
to be on their guard after it uncovered evidence that spammers are
exploiting the popular video website YouTube in order to promote
their own goods and online stores.
Spam emails seen by Sophos claim to come from the email address
service@youtube.com, and attempt to lure users into
visiting dating websites or offering prizes of the recently
released Halo 3 arcade game for the XBOX 360 console. By putting
their spam message in the 'comments' section of the
'invite-a-friend' facility on YouTube, hackers have been able to
hijack the website for the purposes of sending unsolicited
email.
The emails arrive from 'YouTube Service
<service@youtube.com>'.
"Normally spammers take over innocent people's PCs to send their
unwanted messages across the internet. In this case, however, they
don't need to do that. Instead they are using a website to relay a
message on to their intended audience," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant for Sophos. "The criminals are hoping that by
embedding themselves inside a YouTube email they will be able to
slip past spam filters at the recipient's email gateway."
Sophos experts question, however, how successful the unsolicited
messages will be at generating cash for the spammers.
"This is hardly the most compelling example of a spammer
advertising his wares to an internet user," continued Cluley. "It
may be an effective way of waltzing past some spam defenses by
hiding under YouTube's overcoat, but chances are that most people
will simply erase the message in their inbox and not visit the
site. Nevertheless it doesn't require many positive responses for
the spammers' efforts to have been worthwhile."
In August, Sophos reported how cybercriminals were sending out
junk mails posing as links
to a YouTube video, but were really designed to infect the
recipient's PC with a variant of the Storm worm.
Sophos recommends companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can control network access and defend
against the threats of spam, hackers, spyware and viruses.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.