Topic: Internet cafés under attack

[Clive]

Internet cafés are convenient places to get online when you're away from home or the office and don't have a laptop with you.

However, a new piece of malware has been spotted in China that could put internet cafés at risk from hackers and other online criminals.

Researchers at McAfee drew attention to the problem recently after spotting MachineDog circulating in China. Internet cafés are very popular in China as many people cannot afford a home PC, but slack security policies mean that they are vulnerable to attack.

"One special characteristic of this malware is that it's designed to penetrate the hard disk. This means it can infect most machines in internet bars and cafes, in some cases without too much resistance," said Xing Su of McAfee.

The problem is that many internet cafes don't use conventional security software, but use back-up solutions instead. If a PC picks up an infection, it is simply restored to its pre-infection state.

But the Machine Dog rootkit is much more difficult to get rid of, said McAfee.

"The attack is so dangerous that once it successfully loads its driver into the kernel, most hard-disk protection software will be nothing but an empty shuck, with the administrator still having no idea," said Su.

www.mcafee.com/uk