MPack Discloses Stingy Web

According to the news reported by Infoworld.com on July 5, 2007, Symantec said that the MPack hacker toolkit was downloading malware that included spewing spam within the Windows kernel. The toolkit was quite difficult for security software to detect.

Reportedly, this MPack kit has infected several websites especially in Italy. Further, it contains iframe tags which point towards hacker-controlled websites.

Hon Lau, a researcher with Symantec senses the danger of MPack kit and said that the alarming development of the MPack kit (presently at version 0.86) highlights the fact that the hackers are taking full advantage of online world to nurture their illegal motives, as per the news published by ITjungle.com in the last week of June 2007.

Obviously, there is a low risk of detection and physical damage in cyber crime. Earlier, one of the members of the Fujacks gang said that it was a simple and easy method to make money than real estate. Nevertheless, new attack kits and methods are introduced in place of the existing ones.

Industry experts are claiming that MPack is sold online by its original creators to criminals at a price ranging from $500 to $1000. The application is submitted with modular extras, maintenance updates and the amount supporting contracts sometimes surpasses those offered by genuine software suppliers.

The copies, which are ripped off are sold online at 85% discount i.e. as low as $150, as per the Symantec anti-virus researcher Eric Chien. Eric thinks that the hackers did not need to buy the kit in order to start their illegal business. It is more likely that they have installed the whole package for free from one of the several sites hosting the malware kit.

According to the news reported by The Register on July 6, 2007, Chien claims that the toolkit has been written in a script language and moreover considering it a lucrative model of business, it has emerged as the target of piracy. Further, the package is easy to modify and redistribute.

Related article: MPack Attacks Stealthier than phishing Attempts

» SPAMfighter News - 7/18/2007