Storm Botnet luring the guilty with fake YouTube video

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By Stevie Smith Aug 28, 2007, 13:43 GMT

Various Internet reports have this week outlined that the infamous Storm Botnet hacker group is once again directing its nefarious attentions toward unsuspecting e-mail account holders… only this time victims are being lured via the potential of unmasked infidelity and the underlying guilt that generally goes with it.More pointedly, Storm Botnet began spreading its latest e-mail lure this past weekend, a flood campaign that sees e-mail recipients presented with inbox messages with titles such as "OMG, what are you thinking," which, when opened, claim that a compromising video clip of the person’s actions has been posted for all to see on the YouTube video-sharing Web site.Those with nothing to hide naturally have nothing to fear, and will likely delete the e-mail without a second thought. However, those perhaps harbouring a guilty conscious may fall foul of the bogus YouTube video link that each e-mail contains, especially as the e-mail text chides the user in poor English with: "If this gets to her husband your both dead. see for yourself…" Storm Botnet is best known for secretly forcing malicious programs onto the hardware of unwitting users in order create a wealth of ‘Zombie’ computers that can later be used to help in the global distribution of other spam e-mail attacks. Bearing that in mind, it’s unsurprising to note that users overcome by the possibility of being ‘caught in the act’ who then choose to follow the YouTube link soon find themselves playing host to Storm Botnet’s malicious code via attacker-owned destinations.This latest Storm Botnet e-mail attack is believed to exploit around half a dozen Windows-related software holes in the likes of Internet Explorer, Quicktime, and WinZip. While PC hardware fully up to date with necessary and available security patches should be fine, CNNMoney has outlined that those users wishing to avoid coming into contact with the attack can simply utilise Exploit Prevention Labs’ LinkScanner application, which should provide adequate prevention. Frequently changing its attack angle has always been one of Storm Botnet’s most effective approaches, and prior to this assault on the possible guilt factor of users, the hacker group most recently flooded the Net with malicious e-mail that announced the user had a greeting card from a friend, partner, or family member waiting for collection.

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