Another Website Poisoning Attack

LOS ANGELES – Hackers have succeeded in poisoning thousands of small e-commerce operations, planting a malicious code that in turn infects visitors to the host website.

Coming on the heels of recent, similar attacks on Flash files and the Real player, the latest of these campaigns also targets computers running Microsoft's Windows operating system, allowing hackers to steal passwords, system information and reports on Internet surfing preferences, along with online bank account information, login names and more.

Estimates vary on the size of the attack, which could have compromised up to 10,000 compromised computer systems.

"It's safe to say that there are thousands of these out there," Yuval Ben-Itzhak, security firm Finjan's CTO, said.

Researchers haven't uncovered all of the new attacks secrets, which they've been monitoring since December, but say that the poisoned websites rely on similar server and administration software.

"We know some of the methods," Ben-Itzhak said. "They are trying to exploit known vulnerabilities in open source content management software that the sites are using."

Many adult websites are driven by content management systems (CMS), which could face similar vulnerabilities to the compromised platforms.

The malicious code hides itself by generating random character names for each unique visitor and by remembering repeat visitors, which are not attacked a second time.

According to Simon Heron, managing director for the security firm Network Box, the attack finds vulnerabilities in common browsing software, and other applications such as instant messaging and multimedia programs, which it can exploit by installing a Trojan that will remain undetected as it waits for sensitive data such as online banking logins to be used.

"It looks like the root kit type technique that we have been worried about for the last two or three years," Heron said. "It's very clever."

Many anti-virus programs fail to detect the presence of the Trojan.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

Show More