IRS Spoof Targets Execs Through RTF

A vulnerability that McAfee Avert Labs first warned about last week is now being exploited in the wild, according to VeriSign’s iDefense. At issue are embedded objects in Rich Text Format (RTF) files.Specifically, attackers are sending malicious RTF attachments via e-mail. The e-mail is designed to appear as if it is coming from the Internal Revenue Service. The file, named complaint.rtf, contains a hostile embedded executable called “The original document was not fully loaded. Please double-click to reload msword.exe.”

If the spam recipients, which are executives of major global companies, open the e-mail, the Trojan installs itself to steal sensitive information and upload data to three remote servers, according to VeriSign research.

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Add comment May 31st, 2007