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Ars Technica reports:
The US Secret Service is warning hotel operators to be on the lookout for malware that steals passwords and other sensitive data from guests using PCs in business centers, according to a published report.
The non-public advisory was issued on last Thursday, KrebsOnSecurity reporter Brian Krebs reported Monday. Krebs said the notice warned that authorities recently arrested suspects who infected computers at several major hotel business centers around Dallas. In that case, crooks using stolen credit card data to register as hotel guests used business center computers to access Gmail accounts. From there, they downloaded and installed keylogging software. The malware then surreptitiously captured login credentials for banking and other online services accessed by guests who later used the compromised PCs.
The report is a poignant reminder why it's rarely a good idea to use public PCs for anything more than casual browsing of websites. Even when PCs are within eyesight of a business center employee, librarian, or other supervisor, and even when it is locked down with limited "guest" privileges, there are usually a host of ways attackers can compromise machines running either Windows or Mac OS X.
(Score: 2) by Kilo110 on Tuesday July 15 2014, @10:11PM
Well I'm picturing a hypervisor that loads a windows vm that discards changes to the hdd image. I know vmware has that ability, I'm sure others do as well.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday July 16 2014, @06:27AM
Yes, I understand the principal.
But that shady character working at the front desk plugged a little shim device into the keyboard slot, and then plugged the keyboard into that, and its recording everything you type. Logins, passwords, account numbers, etc.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Wednesday July 16 2014, @06:38AM
Are there still computers where the keyboard is an integrated part (like those old home computers)? That would at least make it impossible to put anything in between keyboard and computer without opening the computer (which would probably not be as easy to perform without being noticed).
On the other hand, even the most secure computer setup would not prevent a hidden camera pointed at the keyboard. Indeed, if there's a dedicated place to put your laptop on (that is a fixed table with chair and connectors which would be the place where you'd most likely put your laptop), even using your own laptop would not help against that type of attack.
(And BTW, it's "principle", not "principal".)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Wednesday July 16 2014, @08:39AM
Yes, I understand the Principal as well. But was it not the Principle that was in question? Merci beaucoups if not.