The Wikileaks website hosts 324 confirmed cases of malware according to one of the leading Bulgarian cyber security researchers Vesselin Bontchev. The dangerous computer programs were attached to leaked email messages.
Wikileaks Reveals How Malware Is Spread Across the Cables
Bontchev has created a partial list that includes information from his ongoing investigation into the issue. He has identified a large number (324 instances) of malware content in emails. In most cases the emails that have malicious links or malware attachment are simply spam, phishing attempts or known scamming tricks. The evidence suggests that the criminals have attempted to compromise the various targets by contaminating them with viruses and other forms of malware infection.
The full data of the partial report contains the full links on the Wikileaks site where the residue may be found.
The security researcher has also posted links to a virus scanner overview page where the threats can be further analyzed. The expert has said that he has not yet completed a full search and that more malware may be found. Bontchev stated that a simple anti-virus check would be able to remove most of the malware threats as they are not very advance or dangerous, according to the samples that have been analyzed so far.
Examination of some of the reports suggests that the target hosts were not using adequate endpoint email filters as the messages have landed in the target inbox. Software filters and other measures were probably the preferred methods of protection from the malicious software.
Security experts suggest corporate users and government agencies to use strong endpoint protection that removes malware traces before delivery to the individual inboxes of the users. This method assures that even without spam filters enabled, the messages would be safe from the threats.
You can access the report on GitHub.
