Hackers have already begun targeting the Pyeongchang Olympic Games with malware-infected emails which may be aimed at stealing passwords or financial information, researchers said Saturday.

The security firm McAfee said in a report that several organizations associated with the Olympics had received the malicious email with the primary target being groups affiliated with ice hockey.

"The majority of these organizations (targeted) had some association with the Olympics, either in providing infrastructure or in a supporting role," the McAfee report said.

"The attackers appear to be casting a wide net with this campaign."

In the attacks, which began as early as December 22, emails were "spoofed" to make them appear to come from South Korea's National Counter-Terrorism Center, which was in the process of conducting antiterror drills in the region in preparation for the Games.

McAfee said the emails came in fact from an address in Singapore, and instructed the readers to open a text document in Korean.

The document was titled "Organized by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Pyeongchang Winter Olympics," according to the report.

The malware in some cases was hidden in text, and later in an image -- a technique known as steganography, according to McAfee.

"Based on our analysis, this implant establishes an encrypted channel to the attacker's server, likely giving the attacker the ability to execute commands on the victim's machine and to install additional malware," McAfee said.

McAfee said it expects more attacks of this nature, echoing warnings last year from University of California researchers of increasing targeting of sporting events.

"With the upcoming Olympics, we expect to see an increase in cyberattacks using Olympics-related themes," the McAfee report said.

"In similar past cases, the victims were targeted for their passwords and financial information."

Tweet

Two Romanians charged with hacking US capital police cameras
Washington (AFP) Dec 28, 2017
Two Romanian nationals have been arrested and charged with hacking into computer systems which controlled surveillance cameras for the Metropolitan Police Department in the US capital earlier this year, officials said Thursday. A criminal complaint unsealed in Washington said the two - Mihai Alexandru Isvanca, 25, and Eveline Cismaru, 28 - were arrested in Bucharest on December 15 and char ... read more

Related Links
Cyberwar - Internet Security News - Systems and Policy Issues

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only