The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) has attracted renewed interest lately, but not in a good way: The bad guys are now using the ‘70s disco-era file transfer technology to serve up bot malware, and even as a backdoor into some enterprises that neglect to lock down their FTP servers.
Researchers at F-Secure have spotted a new wave of exploits that use FTP — rather than a malicious URL, or the conspicuous email attachment — to deliver their malware payloads. “As SMTP and HTTP are much better filtered for malware, FTP might be the best transport protocol for a virus writer,” says Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer for F-Secure. “We’ve just started to observe this phenomenon — it’s not widespread yet, but likely to increase.” FTP Hacking on the Rise – Desktop Security News Analysis – Dark Reading
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