The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

US Disease Control website catches malware cold

Virus infection

Agentless Backup is Not a Myth

Officials at the US Centers for Disease Control were left dealing with a different kind of outbreak last week after hackers planted a virus on the agency's website

Unspecified malware hidden among legitimate audio and video clips and planted on the agency's podcast site had the capability to infect visiting surfers. The podcast site was taken down after the attack was discovered last week, AP reports.

Early indications are that hackers had no access to sensitive information and did no mischief apart from planting malicious files on a site that normally provides audio and video material on public health issues. "Several hundred people" visited the podcast site in time between the malware was uploaded last Thursday and the time the site was taken down a few hours later, CDC spokesman Tom Skinner told AP. Surfers who visited the site recently are urged to scan their PCs for viruses as a precaution. ®

Steps to Take Before Choosing a Business Continuity Partner

More from The Register

 breaking news
Number of cops abusing Police National Computer access on the rise
Only a telegram from the Queen can get you off it
 breaking news
NSA PRISM snoop-gate: Won't someone think of the children, wails Apple
10,000 things probed, mostly about missing kids, Alzheimer patients, we're told
Flash flaw potentially makes every webcam or laptop a PEEPHOLE
But it's a Google problem - Chrome only, insists Adobe
Internet fraud still stings suckers
Australians twice as gullible as Americans
 breaking news
NSA PRISM-gate: Relax, GCHQ spooks 'keep us safe', says Cameron
Whatever they are up to, it's all above board, we're told
 breaking news
Yahoo! joins! rivals! in! PRISM! data! request! admission!
Keep calm and carry on using American tech firms, folks
PRISM snitch claims NSA hacked Chinese targets since 2009
Snowden suddenly looks safer in Hong Kong after revelations
 breaking news
US chief spook: Look, we only want to spy on 6.66 BEELLLION of you
Americans assured they are not in the NSA's sights
Speech-to-text drives motorists to distraction
Will talking to you mean I crash into that car up ahead, Siri?
DHS warns of vulns in hospital medical equipment
Has your doctor's anasthesia machine been hacked?