Incidents

Nigella Lawson Web Page Spreads Malware

ScanSafe reports hackers targeted the UK cook's site

By George Craciun, Security News Editor

17th of July 2008, 08:46 GMT

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Nigella Lawson webpage targeted by hackers

ScanSafe, company that specializes in providing Internet security solutions, has recently revealed that the web page for popular British cook Nigella Lawson came under hacker attack, first detected at the beginning of the week. It is believed that visitors to the previously mentioned site may have been infected with malware, which is why ScanSafe recommends running a complete scan on your systems in order to make sure you have not been infected.

Eldar Tuvey, Chief Executive of ScanSafe comments: "High-profile websites such as Nigella Lawson's must realize that they are becoming an appealing target for these cybercriminals. The compromise of legitimate and trusted websites has contributed to a 278 per cent increase in web-based malware for the first half of the year."

The ScanSafe researcher who detected the problem is the previously mentioned Eldar Tuley. It seems that it was an SQL injection attack that allowed the hacker to install malware, a Trojan included, on the web page. According to Eldar Tuley, the number of SQL injection related hacks has increased by 212%, making them "the most common form of website compromise".

According to ScanSafe, similar attacks have been reported lately. Hackers opt to target high-profile, well-known web pages in order to propagate their malware, as opposed to redirecting users to infected sites. Security experts have always warned about the risks associated to visiting dodgy sites, but it seems that not even trusted pages are safe anymore.

People who have visited the Nigella Lawson web page this week are well advised to update their antivirus software and run a complete system scan. It is also a good idea to check and see that the browser you are using is fully patched and updated.

Nigella Lawson is well known in the UK for the cooking show that aired on Channel 4, called "Nigella Bites". She also hosted a similar show in the US, called "Nigella Feasts". As of 2007, she has been signed by BBC Two, and she currently presents a cooking series called "Nigella Express". Nigella is the daughter of Lord Nigel Lawson, the former British Cabinet Minister.

TAGS:

ScanSafe | Trojan | malware | security

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