Daily Mail website readers exposed to advertising malware
Readers of the popular Daily Mail website may have been exposed to malware according to security researchers, after they discovered that fake banner adverts had been used to redirect browsers to malicious code.
Malwarebytes reported that a fake shoe advertisement was inserted amongst genuine ads on the site to lure shoppers to malware which could infect unsuspecting browsers.
Dubbed ‘malvertising’ the illicit practice involves fooling victims into clicking through to a criminal web page from which so-called ransomware can encrypt files unless payment is received.
To pull off the trick hackers first published the fake ads on a fraudulent ad server from where they were passed onto a genuine advertising network that pushes adverts to Daily mail readers.
In a statement Malwarebytes said it had notified the Daily Mail of the flaw in its website on Friday and was notified that the issue had been resolved on Monday.