http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/new-malware-accuses-victims-of-viewing-child-porn-and-shows-them-proof-2013021/
A particularly nasty new bit of drive-by malware has been discovered trying to extort money from users in Germany by accusing them of viewing child pornography. It’s a horrendous scare tactic to employ, but it’s also one that seems like it could be incredibly effective in deceiving innocent surfers. When confronted with such a horrific accusation, there’s no doubt that some would move quickly to comply in whatever way they were told was necessary.
After all, who are they going to go to for help? The warning has been designed to look official and totally legitimate. And it’s not as though being anonymously accused of viewing underage porn on the web is a topic most are going to be comfortable discussing with… well, anyone. The lowlifes who foist malware upon unsuspecting Internet users aren’t stupid.
They know scare tactics work — and this is about as scary as it can get.
This isn’t a new approach to online extortion. Ransomware has been around for a long time, and it’s taken various forms. Another recently-reported piece of malware is taking things to a whole new level by encrypting victimized users’ files and holding them until ransom demands are met.
And sadly, this isn’t even the first time that child porn accusations have been used as a threat. Last year a similar campaign was also spotted in Germany. The warning page was slightly different, but the messages would have been every bit as terrifying to those who didn’t understand what was going on. This new round of attacks goes so far as to display a partial image of a child as “proof,” which some security researchers are saying is a first.
Constant Gardener
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The same GQP demanding we move on from January 6th, 2021 is still doing audits of the November 3rd, 2020 election.
