Koobface: attacking Facebook, MySpace, and now Bebo..

Posted: 12/13/2008 12:56:00 pm
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Author: Java[at]Saindra
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Filed under: antivirus, koobface, social networking, trojan

Koobface? The name given to a computer worm that uses Facebook's messaging system to infect PCs in an attempt to gather sensitive information such as credit card numbers.

Koobface propagates by sending notes to Facebook friends of someone whose PC has been infected. The messages, with subject headers like, "You look just awesome in this new movie," direct recipients to a Web site where they are asked to download what it claims is an update of Adobe Systems Inc's Flash player.

If they download the software, users end up with an infected computer, which then takes users to contaminated sites when they try to use search engines from Google, Yahoo, MSN and Live.com, according McAfee.

The Koobface virus also attacks users of the MySpace social networking site. Variants of the worm include Net-Worm.Win32.Koobface.a. and Net-Worm.Win32.Koobface.b.

Facebook Hit With 'Koobface' Virus

Facebook's 120 million users are being targeted by a virus dubbed "Koobface" that uses the social network's messaging system to infect PCs, then tries to gather sensitive information such as credit card numbers.

It is the latest attack by hackers increasingly looking to prey on users of social networking sites.

"A few other viruses have tried to use Facebook in similar ways to propagate themselves," Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said in an e-mail. He said a "very small percentage of users" had been affected by these viruses.

"It is on the rise, relative to other threats like e-mails," said Craig Schmugar, a researcher with McAfee Inc.

Koobface spreads by sending notes to friends of someone whose PC has been infected. The messages, with subject headers like, "You look just awesome in this new movie," direct recipients to a website where they are asked to download what it claims is an update of Adobe Systems Inc's Flash player.

McAfee warned in a blog entry on Wednesday that its researchers had discovered that Koobface was making the rounds on Facebook.

Facebook requires senders of messages within the network to be members and hides user data from people who do not have accounts, said Chris Boyd, a researcher with FaceTime Security Labs. Because of that, users tend to be far less suspicious of messages they receive in the network.

"People tend to let their guard down. They think you've got to log in with an account, so there is no way that worms and other viruses could infect them," Boyd said.

Social network MySpace, owned by News Corp, was hit by a version of Koobface in August and used security technology to eradicate it, according to a company spokeswoman. The virus has not cropped up since then, she said.

Privately held Facebook has told members to delete contaminated e-mails and has posted directions at www.facebook.com/security on how to clean infected computers.

Richard Larmer, chief executive of RLM Public Relations in New York, said he threw out his PC after it became infected by Koobface, which downloaded malicious software onto his PC. It was really bad. It destroyed my computer," he said.

McAfee has not yet identified the perpetrators behind Koobface, who are improving the malicious software behind the virus in a bid to outsmart security at Facebook and MySpace.

"The people behind it are updating it, refining it, adding new functionalities," said McAfee's Schmugar.

Tak puas beraksi di situs jejaring sosial Facebook, trojan Koobface mulai melakukan invasi ke situs jejaring sosial lain yang cukup digemari pengguna internet bernama Bebo. Motif serangan yang dilancarkan hampir sama seperti yang menimpa Facebook dan MySpace beberapa waktu lalu. Koobface melancarkan aksinya dengan mengirimkan pesan yang memerintahkan penerimanya untuk membuka link yang sudah disisipkan trojan. Jika link tersebut diklik, user akan diminta untuk meng-update Flash Player mereka. Bukannya update yang didapat, user malah dijerumuskan untuk men-download program jahat ke komputer.

Menurut perusahaan keamanan ScanSafe, seperti dikutip detikINET dari Vnunet, Jumat (12/12/2008), trojan ini akan mencoba mencuri informasi penting seperti nomor kartu kredit. Senior peneliti keamanan ScanSafe, Mary Landesman, mengimbau agar pengguna tidak sembarangan mengklik link yang mereka terima secara mendadak, sekalipun link tersebut berasal dari seseorang yang Anda kenal. Detik

Technical detail by symantec

Discovered: August 3, 2008

Updated: August 3, 2008 6:04:48 PM

Also Known As: Net-Worm.Win32.Koobface.b [Kaspersky], W32/Koobface.worm [McAfee], Boface.A [Panda Software]

Type: Worm

Infection Length: 16,652 bytes

Systems Affected: Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows XP, Windows Me, Windows Vista, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000

When the worm executes, it copies itself as the following file:
c:\windows\mstre6.exe

It also creates the following file which serves as an infection marker:
c:\windows\tmark2.dat

It then creates the following registry entry so that it runs every time Windows starts:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Run\"systray" = "c:\windows\mstre6.exe"

The worm deletes the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating

When executed for the first time on a given machine it will display the following message box in order to distract user's attention from its real purpose:
Window title: Error
Window body: Error installing Codec. Please contact support.

Then it searches for cookies related to social networking sites. If none are found, the worm deletes itself.

If the worm finds the appropriate security cookie, it modifies the settings so that links to malicious sites will be added to the user's profile to trick visitors into following. These links will point to a copy of the worm disguised as a video codec.

Recommendations

Symantec Security Response encourages all users and administrators to adhere to the following basic security "best practices":

Use a firewall to block all incoming connections from the Internet to services that should not be publicly available. By default, you should deny all incoming connections and only allow services you explicitly want to offer to the outside world.
Enforce a password policy. Complex passwords make it difficult to crack password files on compromised computers. This helps to prevent or limit damage when a computer is compromised.
Ensure that programs and users of the computer use the lowest level of privileges necessary to complete a task. When prompted for a root or UAC password, ensure that the program asking for administration-level access is a legitimate application.
Disable AutoPlay to prevent the automatic launching of executable files on network and removable drives, and disconnect the drives when not required. If write access is not required, enable read-only mode if the option is available.
Turn off file sharing if not needed. If file sharing is required, use ACLs and password protection to limit access. Disable anonymous access to shared folders. Grant access only to user accounts with strong passwords to folders that must be shared.
Turn off and remove unnecessary services. By default, many operating systems install auxiliary services that are not critical. These services are avenues of attack. If they are removed, threats have less avenues of attack.
If a threat exploits one or more network services, disable, or block access to, those services until a patch is applied.
Always keep your patch levels up-to-date, especially on computers that host public services and are accessible through the firewall, such as HTTP, FTP, mail, and DNS services.
Configure your email server to block or remove email that contains file attachments that are commonly used to spread threats, such as .vbs, .bat, .exe, .pif and .scr files.
Isolate compromised computers quickly to prevent threats from spreading further. Perform a forensic analysis and restore the computers using trusted media.
Train employees not to open attachments unless they are expecting them. Also, do not execute software that is downloaded from the Internet unless it has been scanned for viruses. Simply visiting a compromised Web site can cause infection if certain browser vulnerabilities are not patched.
If Bluetooth is not required for mobile devices, it should be turned off. If you require its use, ensure that the device's visibility is set to "Hidden" so that it cannot be scanned by other Bluetooth devices. If device pairing must be used, ensure that all devices are set to "Unauthorized", requiring authorization for each connection request. Do not accept applications that are unsigned or sent from unknown sources.
For further information on the terms used in this document, please refer to the Security Response glossary.