Hackers use BBC news to proliferate virus

Excerpts of BBC news are being used to lure web users to a malicious site that takes advantage of an, as yet unpatched, Internet Explorer vulnerability. Hackers have been sending out spam emails that include snippets of BBC news stories with 'read more' links attached; when users click on the link they are then directed to a malicious site where keylogging software- designed to capture financial information- exploits the Microsoft vulnerability. Increasingly pervasive cyber criminals are constantly formulating more inventive viruses and experts have recognised that global brands, like the BBC, are ideal for hackers to hijack for the proliferation of malware. Earlier in the week it was revealed that Mikhail Bulgakov's novel, The Master and Margarita, had been appropriated by spammers to provide links to websites selling performance enhancing drugs. Graham Cluley the senior technology consultant at Sophos, a threat management solution company, warned: 'Anyone unfortunate enough to run malicious software could potentially be allowing hackers to gain access to their computer to spy, steal and cause havoc. Users need to savvy-up to reduce the risk of being taken in by greedy, money-grabbing internet criminals.' Microsoft's next security update, due on April 11th, is reported to contain a patch for the vulnerability