Malware

Symantec warned this week that it has encountered a new form of pump-and-dump spam that features a link to a high-definition video stream touting a uranium mining stock.

Cyberattackers are exploiting the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to spread malware, according to researchers at numerous anti-virus vendors.

In its inaugural report on the overall state of internet security, Cisco is predicting bigger attacks in 2008 from the Storm botnet as its creators let criminals buy the use of Storm's millions of zombie computers to launch massive spam or DoS attacks.

Popular social networking site MySpace today filed a lawsuit against Hong Kong-based Blue China Group Ltd. and three individuals, alleging the defendants engaged in a massive spam operation designed to harass users and generate profits.

Google has halted the spread of a worm on its social networking website, Orkut, but not before the self-replicating script reportedly spread to more than 400,000 member profiles.

Victims of phishing scams in the United States lost $3.2 billion during a 12-month period ending in August, and the number of people on the receiving end of phishing emails has more than doubled over the past three years, according to a report from Gartner.

An intricate network of servers operated by Chinese criminals has moved into the void created when the notorious Russian Business Network (RBN) shut down, according to a report from anti-crimeware vendor Finjan.

A Russian criminal organization known as UpLevel and its German affiliates are using a version of the Prg trojan to attack commercial banking clients, according to anti-virus vendor SecureWorks.