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U.S. State and Local Governments Receive Malware-Containing CDs Mailed from China

posted by janrinok on Tuesday July 31 2018, @01:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the old-but-tested dept.

takyon writes:

State Govts. Warned of Malware-Laden CD Sent Via Snail Mail from China

Here's a timely reminder that email isn't the only vector for phishing attacks: Several U.S. state and local government agencies have reported receiving strange letters via snail mail that include malware-laden compact discs (CDs) apparently sent from China, KrebsOnSecurity has learned.

This particular ruse, while crude and simplistic, preys on the curiosity of recipients who may be enticed into popping the CD into a computer. According to a non-public alert shared with state and local government agencies by the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), the scam arrives in a Chinese postmarked envelope and includes a "confusingly worded typed letter with occasional Chinese characters."

Please insert in election computer.

Also at TechCrunch and Engadget.

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  • (Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Wednesday August 01 2018, @02:29AM

    by AthanasiusKircher (5291) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @02:29AM (#715489) Journal

    Indeed. I thought everyone immediately stopped using optical drives the moment Apple declared them unnecessary and deprecated them on their cool, hip new computers.

    Just like no one ever uses a headphone jack anymore after Apple declared them superfluous.

    [This is mostly sarcasm, though the availability of optical drives has been decreasing of late, which does make this story a bit surprising. I haven't bought a laptop/notebook with an optical drive onboard since 2003, though I have a couple USB optical drives I use when I need one, and obviously I still put them in my desktop builds.]

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