Growth Rate of New Koobface Modifications Explodes During June

WOBURN, MA, Jul 06 (MARKET WIRE) --
Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of Internet threat protection
solutions that defend against computer viruses, spyware and all forms of
malicious software, saw an explosion of Koobface modifications throughout
the month of June, due to summer and vacations across the northern
hemisphere. In just one month, the number of variants detected jumped
from 324 at the end of May 2009 to almost 1000 by the end of June 2009.

Koobface, the infamous worm, was first detected by Kaspersky Lab as
Net-Worm.Win32.Koobface, and it instantly became popular when it appeared
almost one year ago targeting Facebook and MySpace accounts. The Koobface
worm is spreading through a legitimate user's account to their friends'
profiles. Comments and messages sent by the worm contain a link to a fake
YouTube style website which invites users to download a "new version of
Flash Player." The worm, rather than a media player, is then downloaded
to victim machines. Once a user is infected, he or she will start
spreading such messages to his or her friends. In the meantime, the
functionality of the worm has been extended. Koobface is now targeting
more social networking websites like Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, Bebo,
Tagged, Netlog and, most recently, Twitter.

As social networks such as Facebook or Twitter are becoming increasingly
popular (Facebook Alexa Ranking), attacks targeting them are also gaining
momentum.

Tips for Users:

-- Be cautious when opening links coming through suspicious messages, even
if the sender is one of your trusted Facebook friends.

-- Use either Internet Explorer 8 running in protected mode or Firefox
with NoScript installed.

-- Divulge as little personal information as possible. Do not give out
your home address, phone number or other private details.

-- Keep your antivirus software updated to prevent new versions of malware
from attacking your computer.

Kaspersky Lab users running any of the Company's current anti-malware
products are fully protected from all known variants of
Net-Worm.Win32.Koobface. Kaspersky Lab's global team of analysts are
keeping a close eye on all threats coming from the social networking
space, monitoring the malicious activity and constantly updating the
protection customers receive.

Quote:

Stefan Tanase, Malware Researcher
Kaspersky Lab

"This sign of increased cybercriminal activity involving social
networks in the past month proves that the strategies being used by the
bad guys to infect users are much more efficient when adding the social
context to their attacks. June 2009 marks an important milestone in the
evolution of social networking malware: the activity we've seen this
month exceeds by far any other month in the past."

About Kaspersky Lab

Kaspersky Lab delivers the world's most immediate protection against IT
security threats, including viruses, spyware, crimeware, hackers,
phishing, and spam. Kaspersky Lab products provide superior detection
rates and the industry's fastest outbreak response time for home users,
SMBs, large enterprises and the mobile computing environment.
Kaspersky(R) technology is used worldwide inside the products and
services of the industry's leading IT security solution providers. Learn
more at www.kaspersky.com. For the latest on antivirus, anti-spyware,
anti-spam and other IT security issues and trends, visit
www.viruslist.com.

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Media Contact:
Christen Rice
Kaspersky Lab Americas
P: + 1 781 503 2625
E: christen.rice@kaspersky.com

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