Hackers lurk in AMD Web site

Robert McMillan   Today’s Top Stories   or  Other Cybercrime and Hacking Stories  

Gain a faster, cheaper way to manage workload Why SaaS is Vital to Email and Web Security Leverage Your Experience with Tivoli Storage Manager Ninja: Total Email Security The Impact of Messaging and Web Threats Spam Spikes: A Real Risk to Your Business SaaS Solutions for Remote Systems Management Learn-Fast Guide: Software as a Service is Growing Up Mobility @ the Speed of Business Sign up to receive Cybercrime and Hacking Resource Alerts

January 30, 2006 (IDG News Service) -- Users of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s microprocessors may want to think twice before looking for technical support on the company's Web site. Customer support discussion forums on the forums.amd.com site have been compromised and are being used in an attempt to infect visitors with malicious software, an AMD spokesman confirmed Monday.
The problem was first reported Monday in a blog posting by Mikko Hypponen, manager of antivirus research at F-Secure Corp. in Helsinki. As of Monday morning, AMD technicians were still working to resolve the problem, according to AMD spokesman Drew Prairie.
Because AMD had just learned of the problem, Prairie could give few details on how the site was compromised or when AMD expected to have the issue resolved. "It's being worked on and corrected," he said.
According to F-Secure's Hypponen, attackers are exploiting a widely reported flaw in the way the Windows operating system renders images that use the WMF (Windows Metafile) graphics format. This flaw was patched on Jan. 5, so users who are running versions of Windows that have the latest patches installed are not at risk, he said.
Attackers have figured out a way to use AMD's forums to deliver maliciously encoded WMF images to visitors, which are then used to install unauthorized software on the unpatched systems, he said.
In this case, the software appears to be a number of different malicious tool bars. "Most of the tool bars show pop-ups, follow your search and other keyword activity, and use that to target ads to you," Hypponen said. "It's for-profit hacking. Somebody is making money from each machine that is hit by these tool bars."
Because of the nature of the WMF vulnerability, however, hackers could install any type of software they wanted on unpatched systems, he said.
How the attackers were able to compromise the AMD forums is unclear. Hypponen said that the AMD server could have been hacked, but that the problem could also be due to an intrusion at an AMD partner Web site or at an ISP, he said.
These kind of WMF exploits have already been seen on a number of Web sites, but AMD is the most high-profile victim, Hypponen said. Because users tend to trust content being served by known Web sites like AMD, the hack is particularly troublesome, he added.
Ironically, AMD Web site visitors who are using chips that support the new DEP (Data Execution Prevention) feature, which prevents software from running where it doesn't belong, are probably protected from the WMF malware, Hypponen said. "If you are running an AMD processor with DEP enabled, it likely protects you from the vulnerability that hit youfrom the AMD site."

Reprinted with permission from

IDG.net
Story copyright 2008 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

"Yes, NASA has confirmed that some laptops taken to the International Space Station were infected with an online-gaming password stealing..." Read more... "Linux is more secure than most operating systems, but Not if you don't practice basic security measures..." Read more... Read more Security posts or See all Blogs

Cellular operators say they're ready for Gustav Psystar calls Apple a 'monopoly' in antitrust charges Doubt cast on Seinfeld as Windows TV ads near More top stories...

IT workers hit hardest by offshore outsourcing, survey finds Microsoft: No more Windows Live Mail crashes with IE8 Beta 2 Microsoft warns of IE8 lock-in with XP SP3

Telecommuting: 6 questions to ask before you say yes Telework can change office dynamics in ways you hadn't anticipated. Proceed cautiously. Wi-Fi tweaks for speed freaks Got a painfully slow connection or random dead spots? Our tips will help you get the most out of your wireless network. 5 ways to drive your best workers out the door Listen up, managers: Employees don't quit the job; they quit you. Ultraportable laptops: Their rise and possible fall Netbooks, ultraportables, mini-notebooks — whatever you call them, they've been grabbing headlines. Are they here for the long term or just a flash in the pan? Windows Vista A to Z Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS. More Continuing Coverage After 9/11: Homeland Security Apple's iPhone Ask a Premier 100 IT Leader Bill Gates steps down BlackBerry Legal Battle Data Security Breaches Electronic Voting Firefox H-1B Visas HP's Boardroom Scandal Handheld Devices Hurricane Katrina Aftermath Microsoft Legal Issues Microsoft's Vista Open Source RFID Technology SCO's Linux Fight Sarbanes-Oxley Act Spam Voice Over IP Wi-Fi Windows Meta File Vulnerability Windows XP Service Pack 3 IT Careers 2010 Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready? More Special Reports Premier 100 IT Leaders 2007 Best in Class 2006 Computerworld Horizon Awards 2006 Premier 100 IT Leaders 2006 Salary Survey 2007 Best Places to Work in IT 2007 IT Forecast 2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders 40 Years of Computerworld ASPs, Take Two Best Places to Work in IT 2003 Best Places to Work in IT 2004 Best Places to Work in IT 2005 Best Places to Work in IT 2006 Business Intelligence Home Runs Business Intelligence: Smarter BI Business Intelligence: The Future of BI CRM Goes Vertical CRM: Sober CRM Career Planning Guide 2005 Careers: IT Profession 2010 Computerworld Horizon Awards 2005 Data Management: Mining for Gems Data Management: Taming Data Chaos Development: Hard-Workin' Web Sites Development: New Tools New Choices Development: The New World of Application Development Development: The Web Services Tsunami Development: Web Services Hurdles Disaster Recovery: Preparing for the Worst E-commerce Grows Up E-mail/Groupware: Big Decisions Faces of Mobile IT Forecast 2006 Global Mobile Hardware: Multiple Cores, Multiple Challenges Hardware: On-Demand Un-Hyped Hardware: The Shape of Things to Come Horizon Awards: 10 Cool Cutting Edge Technologies IT Management: Guide to Managing Vendors IT Management: Navigating Global IT IT Management: Recovery Ahead IT Management: The Future of IT IT Management: The Resourceful Project Manager Innovative Technology Awards 2004 Management: Reinventing IT Microsoft in Transition Mobile/Wireless Leaders and Laggards Mobile/Wireless: The Untethered Worker Mobile/Wireless: Tiny Gadgets, Huge Costs Network Management: Taking Control Networking: Turbulence Ahead! Networking: VoIP Goes Mainstream Operating Systems: In the Slow Lane Operating Systems: Linux Goes Global Operating Systems: Should You Nix Unix? Outsourcing: Offshore Buyer's Guide Outsourcing: Outsourcing Dangers Premier 100 IT Leaders 2004 Best in Class Premier 100 IT Leaders 2005 Best in Class ROI: Do the Math! Salary Survey 2003 Salary Survey 2004 Salary Survey 2005 Security Action Plan Security: Compliance Headaches Security: Proactive Security Security: Risk and Reward Security: Tips From Security Pros Souped-up Security Storage: Battling Complexity Storage: Cheap & Secure Data Stores Storage: Stretching Your Storage Dollars Storage: The Lean Storage Machine Storage: The New Rules of Storage Storage: The Ultimate Backup Guide Supply Chain: Missing Links Supply Chain: RFID Reality Check The Business of Security Web 2.0 Security Wireless: Wireless At Work All Zones Application Performance Zone Business Continuity Zone The File Data Management Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone Windows Protection Zone Identity & Security Management Zone See your link here

From Laggard to Leader: Transforming the Data Center From Laggard to Leader: Transforming the Data Center Register for this complimentary live webcast today! Go to the webcast  Computerworld Executive Bulletin: Building a Robust Antivirus Defense Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for free, compliments of MessageLabs. (Source: MessageLabs) Antivirus software alone isn't enough to prevent today's speedy, sophisticated virus attacks. Security managers should consider multitiered approaches that include behavior scanning, appliances that check e-mail for worms, and restricting user access to dangerous Web sites. Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for free, compliments of MessageLabs, to learn more. Download this executive briefing  White Papers Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Archiving Compliance with Sunbelt Exchange Archiver The Impact of Messaging and Web Threats Advanced Load Balancing: 8 Things You Need to Handle Today's Network Traffic View more whitepapers  Qualified Security Assessors are not created equal Download this whitepaper, free for a limited time, compliments of VeriSign! (Source: VeriSign) Learn how a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) can help you acheive full compliance and security in this white paper, presented by VeriSign and Computerworld. Download this white paper

• Cellular operators say they're ready for Gustav
• IT workers hit hardest by offshore outsourcing, survey finds
• Psystar calls Apple a 'monopoly' in antitrust charges
• More top stories 

Identity & Security Management Solve your compliance problems and mitigate risk. Automate, validate and enforce business governance with Novell Identity Management and Security solutions. Learn more in the Identity & Security Management Zone See All Zones

In Security Stripping away the trappings of applications, systems and networks, information is the core asset of most organizations. Our columnist describes how asserting the importance of information governance is crucial to making that asset tangible, addressable and protected. Click here to read the latest column by Jon Espenschied

Protecting Exchange While it was once just a convenient way for employees to communicate internally, today e-mail systems like Exchange are tightly integrated with other business applications and are one of the primary methods for communicating with current and prospective customers. Protecting Exchange against costly downtime has become a top priority for more IT departments. So how do you ensure that your Exchange environment is always protected? Download this white paper now!

The Spy Files For Congress to do anything that helps protect consumers and the critical Internet infrastructure as a whole, it must pass laws that require proactive processes to protect computers, not that tell people how to deal with the resulting mess, says Ira Winkler. Click here to read the latest column by Ira Winkler