Hackers Launch Holiday Email Campaign

BOSTON -- IT security and control firm Sophos is warning workers returning from the New Year holidays to be wary of internet attacks taking advantage of the celebrations.

New versions of the Dorf worm (W32/Dorf-AE, also known as Storm) have stopped using the lure of Santa Claus's wife doing a striptease and in recent days posed as Happy New Year e-cards.

The latest malicious email campaigns contain links to websites containing malware, and have used a wide variety of seasonal subject lines, including:

• A brand New Year 2008
• Blasting New Year 2008
• Dance to the New 2008 Year tune
• Happy New Year 2008 to the one I love
• New Year 2008 Wishes
• The New Year has arrived

"As we return from holiday break, we’re seeing the continued efforts of hackers taking advantage of holidays and major events to spread malware and exploit innocent computer users," said Mike Haro, senior security analyst at Sophos. "Clicking on these malicious links or infected attachments can lead users right into the greedy hands of cybercriminals. Computer users should add regular security updates to their list of New Year resolutions in order to ensure they don’t fall victim to these ongoing attacks.”

Sophos plc