There’s a new form of cyber crime which is giving celebrity hunters a headache and of all Olympic athletes Andy Murray is the most dangerous athlete. We aren’t talking about his skills on the tennis court either because McAfee says that people gripped by Murray Mania are most likely to fall fowl of cyber criminals traps.
How they do it
Cyber crooks will latch on the latest celebrity trends to lure unsuspecting web users into downloading material onto their devices. This can include screen savers, videos and downloads focused on the star in question. Apparently searches such as ‘Andy Murray videos, Andy Murray downloads and Andy Murray Screensaver’s’ have been targeted by the crooks who have interlaced materials with malware or viruses.
The Top 5 most dangerous sports stars
A title he won’t want: Andy Murray Top Cyber Threat
Unsurprisingly other stars of the 2012 Olympics have been used to farm out risky materials. This includes Ryan Giggs as the second most dangerous, Louis Smith in 3rd, Tom Daley in 4th and Mark Cavendish is 5th. Other stars include the controversial Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps.
Raj Samani, CTO of McAfee explained,“Andy Murray has seen regular press attention in his battle to become a serious contender in his sport, so it’s no surprise that the bad guys have taken advantage of his popularity to target consumers. To keep your valuable data and devices safe over this summer of sports, surf securely by ensuring the sites you visit have been verified as safe.”
The firm says that their SafeSearch facility will monitor websites, downloads and materials to keep users safe. Read more about the study and SiteAdvisor here.
