The U.S. Agency for International Development's server was hacked and used to host porn, a security researcher reported Friday.
Sunbelt Software discovered that the USAID server had been compromised, security researcher Patrick Jordan explained Friday in a blog post. A search for porn using Google's "site:" operator to restrict the search to the USAID domain) returned a list of apparent porn links, Jordan reported.
The porn links reportedly were meant to lure searchers to Web pages that gave fake error messages calling for video software to be updated. Interacting with the dialog menu - accepting or canceling it - likely results in the installation of the Zlob Trojan, explained Information Week. Infected machines are said to be at risk of being conscripted to serve in a cyber-criminal's "bot army."
The hacked server was associated with USAID's Tanzania subdomain, Tanzania.USAID.gov. A USAID spokesperson said the agency's information-technology staff was dealing with the issue on Friday.
The USAID site provides economic, developmental and humanitarian assistance around the world as part of the foreign-policy goals of the United States.
