Malware Attacks Posing in Campaign Videos

Apparently Saturday Night Live isn't the only constituency seeking to profit by tying its fortunes to presidential-themed video clips these days.

In addition to the highly-publicized skits that SNL has produced in the last several weeks that have parodied the presidential and vice presidential candidates and generated a torrent of interest online, cybercriminals are also ramping up their efforts to tap into the ongoing race to pad their wallets and add to their networks of infected endpoints.

According to a report published by anti-spyware specialists Webroot on Monday, researchers at the company have charted a rapid increase in the volume of infected files being distributed, in particular via P2P file sharing networks, that have been disguised as campaign-oriented content.

The company specifically warned user to beware of malware files being propagated in files labeled as McCain and Obama campaign videos. Among the P2P networks that the company reported that it has seen large amounts of the infected presidential files trading hands on is Gnutella, which is accessed by many users of FrostWire and LimeWire.