New script outstrips all other drive-by download risks

Major malicious domo

By John Leyden, 15th May 2009

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A newly-created malicious script has become the source of almost half the drive-by download attacks tracked by one security firm.

JSRedir-R accounts for around 43 per cent of all malicious infections found on websites over the last week, according to a study by net security firm Sophos, published on Thursday. The malware crops up with almost six times the frequency of its nearest rival, iFrame-F (which is recorded in seven per cent of attacks).

The JSRedir-R script is typically found on legitimate websites, hidden behind obfuscated JavaScript, and used to exploit browser vulnerabilities to download malware onto the Windows PCs of visiting surfers via third-party websites under the control of hackers. The malicious script has also cropped up on the 2 Girls 1 Cup scat video viral website.

A chart from Sophos on the relative frequency of different web-based attacks can be found here. More pointers on how the JSRedir-R attack works, and how webmasters might guard against it, can be found here. ®

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