Hundreds of Websites Hacked
August 14, 2008
VANCOUVER, CANADA – August 14, 2008 – A new variant of a hacker attack that infected hundreds of thousands of websites in April of this year is making a comeback this week, industry analysts are reporting. Hundreds of websites are believed to be affected and thousands of web servers have been turned into malware-delivery systems.
Microsoft representatives reported in June that the SQL injection attacks do not exploit a specific software vulnerability, but instead “target websites that do not follow secure coding practices for accessing and manipulating data stored in a relational database.”
The attack rewrites the web pages on a server to insert code into trusted websites such as government sites, sales sites, real estate sites, and financial information sites. Website visitors’ computers become infected after accepting malware from the trusted site.
"This is part of a larger trend of web application insecurity," says IT consulting firm Pacific Coast Information Systems Ltd. President Vaclav Vincalek. "However, web application assessments, testing and fixing of vulnerabilities by web security experts can significantly improve an organization’s protection against such attacks."
Since up to 75 per cent of hacker attacks are directed against those types of targets, companies that fail to protect website users are opening themselves up to inevitable problems. The number of attacks against the web application layer has surged over the past two years.
About PCIS – www.pcis.com
Pacific Coast Information Systems (PCIS) Ltd. is a technology and consulting firm based in Vancouver. Founded in 1995, PCIS offers packaged infrastructure and network solutions that enable organizations to address security and compliance issues within today’s complex IT environment.
About Boonbox – www.boonbox.net
Boonbox, a division of PCIS, was created in 2007. Boonbox packaged service solutions are developed for customers for whom network security is a high priority. Boonbox enables companies to address security, compliance and data integrity issues.
Media Contact
Jonathon Narvey, Communications
Pacific Coast Information Systems Ltd./ Boonbox (a division of PCIS)
700-1112 Pender Street West
Vancouver, BC
V6E 2S1 Canada
Phone: +1 (604) 844-7558
jonathonnarvey@pcis.com
www.pcis.com / www.boonbox.net