Incident Response, Network Security, TDR

WordPress site hack highlights emerging ‘Windows keys’ redirect scam

Researchers at Sucuri are monitoring a rise in website compromises in which visitors are redirected to domains that offer to sell Windows product keys.

In a new blog post Wednesday, the security company detailed its investigation of an unnamed WordPress website whose core files were hacked for this very purpose, noting that the attack used a code injection designed to avoid detection by search engines that might otherwise blacklist the site or warn users of a potential hack. In this instance, users were taken to malicious domains that offered a “Windows 8.1 Product Key Generator 2016 Download.”

“In order for hackers to keep their campaigns profitable, they must make the spam content invisible to search engines,” reads the blog post, authored by malware analyst and team lead Bruno Zanelato. “To prohibit Google from flagging the content as malicious, the code tries to avoid being discovered entirely.”

Bradley Barth

As director of community content at CyberRisk Alliance, Bradley Barth develops content for SC Media online conferences and events, as well as video/multimedia projects. For nearly six years, he wrote and reported for SC Media as deputy editor and, before that, senior reporter. He was previously a program executive with the tech-focused PR firm Voxus. Past journalistic experience includes stints as business editor at Executive Technology, a staff writer at New York Sportscene and a freelance journalist covering travel and entertainment. In his spare time, Bradley also writes screenplays.

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