ATLANTA (AP) - Online videos aren't just for bloopers and rants - some
might also be conduits for malicious code that can infect your computer.
As anti-spam technology improves, hackers are finding new vehicles to
deliver their malicious code. And some could be embedded in online
video players, according to a report on Internet threats released
Tuesday by the Georgia Tech Information Security Center as it holds its
annual summit.
The summit is gathering more than 300 scholars and security experts to
discuss emerging threats for 2008 - and their countermeasures.
Among their biggest foes are the ever-changing vehicles that hackers
use to deliver "malware," which can silently install viruses, probe for
confidential info or even hijack a computer.
"Just as we see an evolution in messaging, we also see an evolution in
threats," said Chris Rouland, the chief technology officer for IBM
Corp.'s Internet Security Systems unit and a member of the group that
helped draft the report. "As companies have gotten better blocking
e-mails, we see people move to more creative techniques."
With computer users getting wiser to e-mail scams, malicious hackers
are looking for sneakier ways to spread the codes. Over the past few
years, hackers have moved from sending their spam in text-based
messages to more devious means, embedding them in images or disguised
as Portable Document Format, or PDF, files.
"The next logical step seems to be the media players," Rouland said.
There have only been a few cases of video-related hacking so far.
One worm discovered in November 2006 launches a corrupt Web site
without prompting after a user opens a media file in a player. Another
program silently installs spyware when a video file is opened.
Attackers have also tried to spread fake video links via postings on
YouTube.
That reflects the lowered guard many computer users would have on such popular forums.
"People are accustomed to not clicking on messages from banks, but they all want to see videos from YouTube," Rouland said.
Another soft spot involves social networking sites, blogs and wikis.
These community-focused sites, which are driving the next generation of
Web applications, are also becoming one of the juiciest targets for
malicious hackers.
Computers surfing the sites silently communicate with a Web application
in the background, but hackers sometimes secretly embed malicious code
when they edit the open sites, and a Web browser will unknowingly
execute the code. These chinks in the armor could let hackers steal
private data, hijack Web transactions or spy on users.
Tuesday's forum gathers experts from around the globe to "try to get
ahead of emerging threats rather than having to chase them," said
Mustaque Ahamad, director of the Georgia Tech center.
They are expected to discuss new countermeasures, including tighter
validation standards and programs that analyze malicious code. Ahamad
also hopes the summit will be a launching pad of sorts for an informal
network of security-minded programmers.