Archive for February, 2008

New Twist in IRS Phishing Scams

February 28, 2008 by Jose Nazario

Earlier today I got a new phishing scam in my inbox, this one for the IRS. I’d love a tax refund, but I don’t think this is how they normally notify you. The lure email is shown below, and is quite standard in its formatting. It even threatens you with criminal prosecution if you lie. [...]

Read More

Internet Routing Insecurity::Pakistan Nukes YouTube?

February 25, 2008 by Danny McPherson

So, assume you’re an ISP in Pakistan and, for whatever reason, you receive an order such as this (PDF) from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). The letter is from the Deputy Director of Enforcement with the PTA, and is requiring that you immediately block access to a YouTube URL, or more specifically (actually, less specifically, [...]

Read More

DDoS Events of Note: WordPress, Gambling Sites

February 20, 2008 by Jose Nazario

The popular blogging site WordPress suffered a DDoS attack a few days ago. Sites like this are often hit, sometimes for inexplicable reasons. Someone gets mad, someone holds a grudge, someone wants retaliation, someone wants to try and hurt the target. I don’t know why WordPress was hit, there could be any number of reasons. [...]

Read More