Brad is the Pitts for email security
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Searching for Brad Pitt or Beyonce during the lunch break could leave staff in hot water, research has shown.
According to SC Magazine, these two A-listers are most commonly exploited by hackers trying to launch viruses, phishing scams and spam email campaigns.
Users searching for terms related to the Ocean's 13 star were found to be at a one in five risk of being exposed to some form of malware.
Researchers said the findings represented a growing trend whereby hackers try to capitalize on areas of widespread interest to compromise web and email security.
Furthermore, some malicious users are crafting fake fan sites in an attempt to infect visitors' machines with various forms of malware.
It follows widespread reports that spam email campaigns were preying on fears over military conflict in Iran to lure people into clicking on virus-ridden messages.
So too, false rumours about a sexual scandal involving Barack Obama have also been circulating as fraudsters think up ever more elaborate phishing scams.
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