Online searches on Japan quake may lead to malware

Posted on 12 Mar 2011 at 10:27pm

Internet users looking for information related to the 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan are being led to fake anti-virus programs created by cybercriminals eager to pounce on the massive interest of people on the disaster.

Photo courtesy of Kyodo/Reuters

Menard Osena, a local executive for anti-virus firm Trend Micro, said in a blog post that cybercriminals have been “caught employing black hat SEO (search engine optimization) techniques to push rogue anti-virus malware in Web search results.”

Osena said researchers from Trend Micro have determined that Web searches for the term “most recent earthquake in Japan” led to several malicious Web pages that contain FakeAV malware.

Osena cited Norman Ingal, threat response engineer from Trend Micro, who explained that the black hat technique is a common strategy employed by cybercriminals in big events like earthquakes and other calamities.

He also quoted Graham Cluley of anti-virus firm Sophos who sent a reminder via his Twitter account that online users should “take care looking for Japan quake/tsunami news. Hackers poison search engines to spread malware. Visit legit news sites only”.

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has set up hotline numbers and an e-mail address for those who would like to inquire about the conditions of Filipinos in Japan.

The hotline numbers at the DFA-OUMWA’s Crisis Management Center are 834-4646 and 834-4580.

Requests for information may also be sent through e-mail address dfaoumwa.cmc@gmail.com.

There are about 84,414 Filipino nationals in the western and southern regions of Japan.

Mobile operator Globe Telecom also announced that it has set up free calling stations at the OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Authority) head office in Pasay City for families who want to contact their loved ones living or working in Japan.

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