Date:         Thu, 6 Nov 2008 18:46:38 -0500
Reply-To:     Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
Subject:      Fwd: Beware of Obama spam - legit, sorry NVC even tho not Friday
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252

This is a legit warning - my apologies for NVC when it isn't Friday, but it
seemed worth forwarding.  Info below from the IT dept. at Cornell U (where
my sister works), plus more info beneath that from a cyber crime blog (URL
for that also below).


Joy
and Matilda, powered by Bob

Warning to all ILR computer users....

I have not seen any of these spam email messages yet, but thought it was
worth sending a warning out to everyone to be extra cautious.  This
information comes from a Network Security alert email list that I am on.  It
does not appear that Symantec Antivirus is picking this up yet.

Jeff Bishop
ILR Technology Services
=======================================================

 Beware Obama spam<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/110508-obama-spam.html?nlhtsec=rn_110608&nladname=110608securityal>


E-mail directing users to watch "amazing speech" infects machines
By Carolyn Duffy Marsan , Network World , 11/05/2008

President-elect Barack Obama has prompted another landslide – this time in
spam instead of votes.

On Wednesday, SophosLabs discovered a massive spam attack that stems from an
e-mail offering news and a video clip from Obama's victory.

SophosLabs, a U.K.-based provider of antispam and antivirus software, says
this piece of malware represents as much as 60% of the malicious spam that
was recorded by their spam traps around the Web today.

The e-mails, which claim to come from news@president.com, have subject lines
such as "Obama win preferred in world poll."

The e-mail prompts users to click on a link to watch his "amazing speech."
If users download Adobe Flash Version 9 as prompted, they are infected with
malicious code that allows their systems to be remotely controlled by
hackers. The malicious code is a Trojan Horse dubbed Mal/Behav-027 by
SophosLabs.

SophosLabs Senior Technology Consultant Graham Cluley said in a blog post
that "it's likely the cybercriminals behind this attack will rotate the
malware being served up by this dangerous Web site…My guess is that this is
far from the last example we will see of Barack Obama's name and image being
abused by malware authors in their greed to infect Internet users."

Lots more info in this discussion from
http://garwarner.blogspot.com/2008/11/computer-virus-masquerades-as-obama.html


WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 05, 2008Computer Virus masquerades as Obama Acceptance
Speech Video<http://garwarner.blogspot.com/2008/11/computer-virus-masquerades-as-obama.html>
Less than twelve hours after President-Elect Obama's historic acceptance
speech, computer criminals have already crafted a malware attack based on
the speech. The UAB Spam Data Mine <http://www.cis.uab.edu/forensics/> has
observed more than 300 spam messages which invite email readers to view the
speech with a spam message that looks like this:
------------------------------

Barack Obama Elected 44th President of United States

Barack Obama, unknown to most Americans just four years ago, will become the
44th president and the first African-American president of the United
States.
Watch His amazing speech at November 5!

Proceed to the election results news page>>

2008 American Government Official Website
This site delivers information about current U.S. Foreign policy and about
American life and culture.

------------------------------


The spam subject lines include:

A new president, a new congress ...
Barack Obama wins
Can Obama win popular vote but lose election?
Did Obama Win Yet?
Election 2008: Time lapse of U.S. counties
Election Center 2008 - Election Results
Election Night Results
Fear of a Black President
New president's
Obama win an Electoral College majority
Obama win Defined by Race
Obama win preferred in world poll
Obama win sets stage for showdown
Obama Wouldnt Be First Black President
Obama's Win Reshapes the Race
Priorities for the New President
Priorities for the New President - TIME
The new President's cabinet?
USA Election 2008 Results
Will American Voters Elect a Black President
World Welcomes Obama's Win

The Sender of the email pretends to be one of:

news@cnn.com
news@usatoday.com
news@online.com
news@c18-ss-1-lb.cnet.com
news@president.com
news@unitedstates.com
news@bbc.com

(yet more details if you go to the URL above)