Toxic Blogs Distribute Malcode and Keyloggers
SAN DIEGO – Websense, a provider of employee internet management solutions, announced that blogs are increasingly being exploited as a means to distribute malicious code and keylogging software. To date in 2005, Websense Security Labs has discovered hundreds of instances of blogs involved in the storage and delivery of harmful code.

Cyber-criminals are now taking advantage of blog sites that allow users to easily publish their own web pages at no cost. Blogs can be attractive vehicles for hackers for several reasons: blogs offer large amounts of free storage, they do not require any identity authentication to post information, and most blog hosting facilities do not provide antivirus protection for posted files.

In some cases, the culprits create a blog on a legitimate host site, post viral code or keylogging software to the page, and attract traffic to the toxic blog by sending a link through spam email or instant messaging (IM) to a large number of recipients. In other cases, the blog can be used as a storage mechanism that keeps malicious code that can be accessed by a Trojan horse that has already been hidden on the user’s computer.

”These aren’t the kind of blog websites that someone would stumble upon and infect their machine accidentally. The success of these attacks relies upon a certain level of social engineering to persuade the individual to click on the link,” said Dan Hubbard, senior director of security and technology research for Websense. “In addition, the blogs are being utilized as the first step of a multi-layered attack that could also involve a spoofed email, Trojan horse, or a keylogger.”

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