Beware malicious LinkedIn invitation reminders

In a world where cybercriminals frequently target users of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter on a regular basis, fans of business network LinkedIn don’t get away scot free.

Take, for example, this malicious attack that we have seen spammed out over the last few days.

You receive an email in your inbox which appears, to all intents and purposes, to be a reminder that you have two outstanding requests to connect to others on LinkedIn, and have messages waiting.

However, the hyperlink doesn’t take you to LinkedIn’s website but instead to a webpage that installs a variant of the ZBot malware (also known as Zeus) onto your computer.

So, rather than expanding your business connections you have just widened your circle to include remote hackers who can now compromise your computer and potentially steal your confidential data. You shouldn’t be surprised if next time you login to your online bank, the hackers are able to view your passwords as easily as if they were peeping…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

Found this article interesting? Follow Graham Cluley on Twitter or Mastodon to read more of the exclusive content we post.

Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the anti-virus industry having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent security analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of computer security, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley, on Mastodon at @[email protected], or drop him an email.