Several websites using the FreeDNS hosting service from NameCheap have had visitors redirected to malicious, cloned sites via an IP address that once hosted command-and-control servers for the Conficker worm, cybersecurity firm Sucuri reported on Friday.Sucuri's investigation into these DNS hijackings focused on a particularly suspicious NameCheap server whose domain was registered just days before by someone in Shanghai, China. This server pointed to an IP address that once served as part of the Conficker campaign but was repurposed to deliver ads, spam and malicious downloads via cloned websites.“At this point it's not clear what happened. Either someone hacked into [individual] domain name registrar accounts and changed the name servers or someone compromised FreeDNS service and replaced one of their name servers,” Sucuri's blog post read. Sucuri reported that the malicious server was taken down and the affected name servers have returned to normal.
Incident Response, Malware, Network Security, TDR
NameCheap DNS hijack redirects visitors to old Conficker IP address
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Bradley Barth
As director of multimedia content strategy at CyberRisk Alliance, Bradley Barth develops content for online conferences, webcasts, podcasts video/multimedia projects — often serving as moderator or host. For nearly six years, he wrote and reported for SC Media as deputy editor and, before that, senior reporter. He was previously a program executive with the tech-focused PR firm Voxus. Past journalistic experience includes stints as business editor at Executive Technology, a staff writer at New York Sportscene and a freelance journalist covering travel and entertainment. In his spare time, Bradley also writes screenplays.
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