14 DAY TRIAL // It's well known the fact that the upcoming Beijing Olympics will be one of the busiest times of the year for hackers because most of them will launch attacks related to the event in order to find new victims. In fact, it seems like the attacks have already been launched as NetworkWorld informs that a couple of phishing emails which attempt to exploit Microsoft Office vulnerabilities have been spotted on the web. As usual, the phishing emails attempt to drop Trojan horses on the affected computers so, a system without the latest patches and without antivirus security is very likely to get compromised.
According to the same source, the phishing emails have Beijing Olympics related subjects such as "The Beijing 2008 Torch Relay" and "National Olympic Committee and Ticket Sales Agents."
As mentioned, the attacks are based on Microsoft Office vulnerabilities, the database files handled by Microsoft Access (MDB format) being some of the files used in the emails spotted on the web. However, individuals seem to be avoided by the new avalanche of messages as the attackers seem to target organizations and government bodies, NetworkWorld reported citing Alex Shipp of MessageLabs.
"These attacks are highly targeted at organizations that have highly confidential and valuable data, such as military and government bodies. The malicious EXE file can remain undetected for several months," the senior antivirus technologist explained.
Although it looks like individual users are protected of this new threat, extra-care is recommended every time a suspicious email arrives in your inbox. Moreover, don't forget to apply the latest updates, patches and fixes for your applications and operating system, in order to avoid software exploits. Antivirus and firewall updates, as well as the download of the latest virus definitions are must haves these days, especially when getting closer to the Beijing Olympics.