Spam Campaign Spreading Malware Disguised as HeartBleed Bug Virus Removal Tool

At the beginning of April, a vulnerability in the OpenSSL cryptography library, also known as the Heartbleed bug, made headlines around the world. If you haven’t heard of the Heartbleed Bug, Symantec has published a security advisory and a blog detailing how the Heartbleed bug works.

As with any major news, it is only a matter of time before cybercriminals take advantage of the public’s interest in the story. Symantec recently uncovered a spam campaign using Heartbleed as a way to scare users into installing malware onto their computers. The email warns users that while they may have done what they can by changing their passwords on the websites they use, their computer may still be “infected” with the Heartbleed bug. The spam requests that the user run the Heartbleed bug removal tool that is attached to the email in order to “clean” their computer from the infection.

This type of social engineering targets users who may not have enough technical knowledge to know that the Heartbleed bug is not malware and that there is no possibility of it infecting computers. The email uses social and scare tactics to lure users into opening the attached file.