Heath Ledger's death exploited by cybercriminals

ZDnet Australia, 29 January 2008 

The death of actor Heath Ledger has prompted cybercriminals to trick unsuspecting fans into downloading malware via infected Web sites, a security company has warned.

Fans who click on malicious links, explained Wilson, would be "led to a search engine optimised keyword-riddled page" and then automatically redirected to another site that requires users to download a "new version of ActiveX object".

"This is just the beginning of a series of redirections that end in the download of different malicious files to the user's computer," he said, adding that users should only visit "established and verifiable news sites" and make sure their Internet security software is up to date.

According to Trend Micro, malware authors had similarly exploited Web users during the aftermath of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister and prominent opposition party candidate Benazir Bhutto last month.

http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Actor-s-death-exploited-by-cybercriminals/0,130061744,339285449,00.htm