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07 September 2007, 12:46

Pfizer computers send Viagra spam

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At first sight it looks like guerrilla marketing to step up sales of Viagra, but it turns out to be an embarrassing security problem at pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer. According to a report published by Wired, a number of computers from Pfizer's enterprise network are sending out spam e-mail offering Viagra, the competing product Cialis, Rolex watches and shares.

US security provider Support Intelligence reports that more than 138 different IP addresses within the Pfizer network have been identified over the past six months as the origin of these e-mails. The provider believes that the computers in question are infected with malware and are probably part of a bot network. However it is apparently not possible to determine the number of infected systems with any accuracy because the systems are behind a firewall.

Support Intelligence says it has informed Pfizer about the problem but the company has failed to react. The security service provider says it has also detected bots in the networks used by Bank of America and Toshiba. Support Intelligence says it keeps an eye on e-mails for 250,000 domains for its analysis of the flow of spam. In addition, it also keeps an eye on connections between Command&Control servers and bots.

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(mba)

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