Security threats Toolkit

Trojan attack uses fake Lewinsky pics

Tags:
Lewinski

Dan Ilet ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 22 Oct 2004 16:25 BST

Hackers are offering fake photos of Monica Lewinsky in a compromising position with a former US president.

In the run up to US the election just two weeks away, hackers are spamming newsgroups with messages supposedly linking to photos of Lewinski with Democrat Bill Clinton.

"The Trojan has been around for a while, and the people behind it have used all sort of disguises," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos.

"It's just a bit sad that people keep going for things like this. But when they do, it's not surprising that they keep getting thwacked on the nose."

The link leads to a Web site that automatically downloads a Trojan horse -- called the hackarmy Trojan -- onto PCs.

A Trojan horse opens a back door on a computer, which allows hackers to enter at their will.The misspelled message read.

Subject: Monica Lewinsky blowjob pics
Message text:
Posted ere are the secret pictures of Monica Lewinsky blowing off Bill Clinton

But Cluley said there was no need to panic providing users had taken precautions: "If you've got antivirus and a firewall, you should be OK. But the message needs to go out to all computer users to think very hard about what they download. Anyone who gets stung at work may not only be bringing a digital disease into their company, but also shaming themselves by revealing their taste for titillation."

Cluley added that he thought the messages were not connected to the elections.

Two years ago, hackers created a virus that posed as a Bill Clinton screensaver. In the screensaver, Clinton could be seen playing his saxophone, as a bra slowly emerged from the end of his instrument.

Last week, a similar message purported to link to a movie of singer Michael Jackson performing indecent acts with a boy. David Beckham fans were also targeted by the hackarmy Trojan, when hackers posted messages supposedly linking to photos of the football player having sex with a Spanish prostitute.