• On CBS MoneyWatch: 6 things NOT to do on Twitter, Facebook

Defense in Depth

Read all 'Javascript injection' posts in Defense in Depth
April 22, 2008 12:01 PM PDT

Javascript injection claims UN and UK government sites

by Robert Vamosi
  • Post a comment

A CNET Google search reveals sites still infected as of Tuesday noon.

Comparisons between two mass Javascript injection attacks suggest they may be related, according to a security company. The latest attack has compromised various sites including one United Nations and several UK government sites with links to malicious servers.

On Tuesday Websense reported seeing distinct similarities between attacks staged earlier this month and over the weekend. Specifically, they cite the use of the same tool to execute the attack being resident on the malicious server. Last summer various groups used the MPACK toolkit to propagate a similar series of Javascript injections.

Javascript injections are browser attacks and require no more effort than appending a script tag to the end of the URL. If a legitimate site is vulnerable to script injection, an attacker can add a script tag to the Web-facing page of the site so that subsequent views will automatically download whatever content is within the script tag. Often the script tag contains calls out to a malicious server.

A user need only stumble upon a compromised site to become infected. In this case, when viewing a compromised site, the injected Javascript loads a file named 1,js. The file is located on a malicious server, which then attempts to execute eight different exploits targeting Microsoft applications.

As of Tuesday, two other files named McAfee.htm and Yahoo,php were no longer active.

A quick review by CNET News.com found that travel and academic sites continue to host the injected Javascript code.

  • prev
  • 1
  • next
advertisement
Click Here

Google's mobile hopes go beyond Nexus One

The world may have thrilled to the potential for a Google Phone, but what Google actually unveiled is its plan for a new smartphone world order.
• Photos: Unboxing Nexus One

Using your smartphone safely

faq Worms, Trojans, and SMS attacks are risks for mobile phones, but the biggest practical threat to users is losing the device.

About Defense in Depth

Covering computer viruses and computer crime, Robert Vamosi goes beyond the hype to provide you with expert interviews of the top security researchers, as well as offering the hands-on, nontechnical advice you'll need to stay safe online.

Add this feed to your online news reader

Defense in Depth topics

Most Discussed



advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right