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Crooks exploit Ford in scareware attack

Cyber crooks are exploiting the name of the Ford Motor Company to expose internet users to online threats with the use of search engines, an online security firm has said.

People searching for information on Ford vehicles are the target of the scareware attack, which has more than one million malicious links all targeting Ford, according to Panda Security.

The attacks work by tricking search engines to inadvertently promote the malicious pages to the top of rankings when the relevant search terms are entered.

"Once the user visits one of the malicious sites, they are prompted to download and install a malicious "codec", which then installs the MS AntiSpyware 2009 (softwarefortubeview.40030.exe) rogue security software," said Panda.

"This case is especially interesting because it's one of the few search engine optimisation attacks that we have seen targeting a single, specific brand."

According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, scareware packages have been rising in recent months as crooks turn to their use and now number more than 9,000.

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