Malvertising is becoming more prevalent, and you’ll never guess where it can be found…
Malvertising is the concept of inserting malware into legitimate advertising, and it’s growing in popularity. While conducting research on website vulnerabilities, Randy Westergren found several sites with vulnerabilities that could be accessed to insert malicious codes into legitimate ads. Some of these sites included: cbsnews.com, newyorktimes.com and msn.com. The seriousness of the issue increases when vulnerabilities are found on major retail sites, such as Walmart. Westergren reported,
“It wouldn’t be difficult for an attacker to leverage these vulnerable ads in order to hijack sessions, leading to a complete account takeover.”
So what can you do to prevent that from happening. Two words: ad blocker. Some security software programs, such as PC Matic, have an ad blocker already included in their security software. However, some do not.
To ensure you are safe from these malvertising scammers, it is advised you make sure your ad blocker is enabled, and your security software is up to date.
