SAN JOSE, CA -- 08/14/08 --
This week's malicious spam malware attack
masquerading as a breaking news update from MSNBC.com is just the most
recent outbreak of a massive phishing attack impersonating a major online
news service.
Similar to the CNN.com phishing outbreak from last week, these new MSNBC
phishing messages are identifiable by a very distinct subject line. The
emails appeared to be from MSNBC.com and have a subject line that starts
with "msnbc.com - BREAKING NEWS:" followed by a fake news headline. Here is
a sample of what the phishing attack looks like:
http://valleywag.com/5036521/microsoft-acquires-aol-according-to-clever-phishing-scheme.
Abaca investigated the situation and was able to successfully quarantine
these fraudulent emails with the Abaca Email Protection Gateway and
ReceiverNet Service.
Please advise your readers to not open this message or release it from
their quarantine.
Its purpose is to download malware onto their computers. If the email was
released from their quarantine, please have them delete it. Warn your users
to not click the link.
More information about these attacks:
MSNBC.com BREAKING NEWS Phish
http://garwarner.blogspot.com/2008/08/msnbc-breaking-news-joins-spam-news.html
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2008/08/msnbc-cnn-hit-b.html
CNN.com Top Ten Phish
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9111858
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/149642/fake_cnn_alert_still_spreading_malware.html
http://blog.isc2.org/isc2_blog/2008/08/cnn-phishers-tr.html
So how do you protect yourself?
1. Find out whether your current spam filter has a way to detect phish
like these and how it works. If you are not satisfied with what you learn,
check out the spam filter from Abaca
which operates using recipient reputation and can instantly and reliably
detect phish such as these as soon as they are launched, without any human
input.
2. Never download any software from a source you do not know.
3. Look for typos and other mistakes in the email.
4. If the email asks you to go to a website, treat it suspiciously. Check
out other pages at that website. See if the images on the site belong to
the site. You can also use "who is" to determine how long ago the site was
created and who controls it.
5. Never trust anything in an unsolicited email from someone you do not
know, no matter how legitimate it looks.
When: August 5 to August 14 Abaca Successfully Protects Users from Massive
Spam Campaigns Appearing to be from MSNBC.com and CNN.com
Who: Abaca Technology Corporation and the Abaca Email Protection Gateway
Appliance with ReceiverNet Service
About Abaca Technology Corporation
Abaca Technology Corporation is an innovator in email protection and
messaging security. Abaca's patent-pending technology, ReceiverNet(TM),
offers an advanced approach in the fight against spam -- providing
unprecedented levels of accuracy and guaranteeing 99 percent spam
filtration. Abaca has created a portfolio of innovative products and
services based upon this core technology, thereby assuring users
unparalleled messaging protection from spam, as well as viruses and
phishing attacks. Abaca is a privately held company headquartered in San
Jose, California. For more information about Abaca, please visit
www.abaca.com.
Where: To learn more about Abaca, visit www.abaca.com.
Abaca®, Email Protection Gateway(TM), Abaca® Email Protection
Gateway(TM), ReceiverNet(TM), and the Abaca logos are trademarks of Abaca
Technology Corporation and may be registered in the United States and/or
other jurisdictions. Other trademarks shown are the property of their
respective owners.
Media Contact:
Donna Candelori
Candelori Communications Inc.
408-774-3414
Email Contact
