Yearly Archives: 2010

Body Armor for Bad Web Sites

November 9, 2010

Hacked and malicious sites designed to steal data from unsuspecting users via malware and phishing are a dime a dozen, often located in the United States, and are a key target for takedown by ISPs and security researchers. But when online miscreants seek stability in their Web projects, they often turn to so-called “bulletproof hosting” providers, mini-ISPs that specialize in offering services that are largely immune from takedown requests and pressure from Western law enforcement agencies.

Keeping an Eye on the SpyEye Trojan

November 8, 2010

Last month, I published evidence suggesting that future development of the ZeuS banking Trojan was being merged with that of the up-and-coming SpyEye Trojan. Since then, a flood of new research and resources has been published about SpyEye, including a new site that helps network owners track the location of SpyEye control networks worldwide.

Google Extends Security Bug Bounty to Gmail, YouTube, Blogger

November 1, 2010

Google on Monday said it was expanding a program to pay security researchers who discreetly report software flaws in the company’s products. The move appears aimed at engendering good will within the hacker community while encouraging more researchers to keep their findings private until the holes can be fixed.

Bredolab Mastermind Was Key Spamit.com Affiliate

October 30, 2010

The man arrested in Armenia last week for allegedly operating the massive “Bredolab” botnet — a network of some 30 million hacked Microsoft Windows PCs that were rented out to cyber crooks — appears to have generated much of his clientele as a key affiliate of Spamit.com, the global spamming operation whose members are blamed for sending a majority of the world’s pharmaceutical spam.