Hackers move to create next Blackhole after 'Paunch' arrest

[Lee J <lee () riskbasedsecurity com>]

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/100813-hackers-move-to-create-next-274644.html?source=nww_rss

Computerworld - Security researchers Tuesday said reports of the arrest of
the hacker<http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9243061/Blackhole_exploit_kit_author_arrested_in_Russia>behind
Blackhole, one of the most widely used exploit kits on the Internet, is
good news for IT operations and users. But it shouldn't be long before
another hacker takes his place.

"[It's] is a big deal," said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at
security firm F-Secure. "According to our statistics, Paunch has been the
biggest provider of exploit packs for the past two years."

Blackhole and the Cool Exploit Kit, both from Paunch, have fueled an
underground economy in recent years, Hypponen said. "Now that Paunch is off
the market, we're probably going to see a fight on who will take his place."

Graham Cluley, an independent security research called the arrest "a coup
for cybercrime-fighting authorities. [It] disrupts the development of one
of the most notorious exploit kits the web has ever seen," he said.

That said, Cluley predicts that it's only a matter of time before another
powerful exploit takes its place, he noted.

Several other exploit kits, including the Whitehole Exploit Kit, Sweet
Orange Exploit Kit and the Redkit Exploit kit, are already been jostling
for the attention of top hackers in the cyber underground.

"Nature abhors a vacuum," Cluely noted. "Other online criminals are waiting
to take [the] place" of Blackhole.

[...]

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