New Malware Plays On Global 'Swine Flu' Fears

Hackers have taken notice of the worldwide H1N1 hysteria and, in an effort to catch people reading up on the virus, have begun flooding email inboxes with messages promising "swine flu" news. These messages instead deliver malware and dubious advertisements promoting anything from herbal medications to male enhancement pills.

The "hot topic" of the past few weeks has been the worldwide spread of the H1N1 virus, more commonly referred to as "swine flu". All across the globe, analysts and experts have urged people to help stop the global outbreak by reading up on the virus, and if any symptoms are being experienced, consult a trusted physician immediately.

Outlandish Stories Hook Unsuspecting Readers

The subject lines on the spam emails have boasted such enticing warnings as "Swine Flu Outbreak!" and "Madonna Catches Swine Flu!" in an effort to grab interest and instigate malware downloads. To optimize realism, emails have even included messages claiming to be from the Mexican President Felipe Calderon outlining new measures to combat the disease.

Hackers have not limited their attacks to email accounts alone, however. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, some online deviants are also creating bogus websites claiming to have products available for purchase that will "prevent, treat and even cure" the H1N1 flu virus. (Source: canada.com)

The FDA is giving the creators of these fictitious websites one warning to "correct and/or remove promotions of these fraudulent products or face immediate enforcement action." (Source: yahoo.com)

Swine Spam an International Phenomenon

According to computer security firm Trend Micro, some swine flu spam is even being peddled by "zombie computers" infected with the dreaded Conficker worm. Other messages are being linked back to sources stemming from all across Germany, Brazil and the United States.

McAfee also chimed in on the topic, claiming that previous email messages containing the words "swine" and "flu" direct unsuspecting users to a Russian-based website armed with an instant computer virus.

Security officials are asking that users take extra precaution these days when seeking online information about the H1N1 virus. Obviously, information about swine flu that comes to you in email form is more suspect than material that a user initiates through a search engine or other medium.

Officials also feel compelled to warn users not to purchase pills of any kind suggested through email attachments. While the safety precautions are common sense, officials feel that this is another great opportunity to educate online users about the dangers of the Internet before even more catastrophes occur.