Cyber criminals are taking advantage of public interest in the US presidential election by luring Internet users into downloading malicious content, Internet security experts at McAfee have revealed.
According to the company, it's best to back Barack Obama with caution in cyberspace as research shows his name is associated with more unsafe Web sites than rival candidate, John McCain.
McAfee says surfing the Internet for updates on the political race can put PCs at serious risk from online threats. If watching clips of a candidate, beware of the keywords “Barack Obama download” and “John McCain download”, as these are most likely to bring up unsafe Web sites. Sites offering free screensavers pose a particular threat.
Looking for content using the term “US presidential elections” is also risky, as many of these purportedly innocent Web sites are loaded with malware, spyware and viruses to infiltrate computers for the purposes of making money or committing ID theft, says McAfee.
“Cyber crooks capitalising on current events is nothing new,” says McAfee. “We saw similar incidents earlier in the year when attackers used the upcoming Beijing Olympics as a means to distribute malware. Players in the Euro 2008 tournament also proved irresistible to criminals as fans went online looking for news of their football heroes.”
Earlier this year witnessed other election-themed attacks. In February, attacks were detected which attempted to tempt users into downloading videos of the electoral candidate Hillary Clinton that actually resulted in a malicious file download, says McAfee.
“Cyber criminals are becoming increasingly adept at misleading Internet users into downloading malware by capitalising on their interest in major events and current affairs,” the company adds. “We all want the latest news and gossip, and the Internet is the perfect medium for this, but it is vital that users are aware of the risks of accessing potentially suspect material.”
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