Hackers target Alicia Keys MySpace page

The MySpace page of pop singer Alicia Keys appears to have been hacked and is emitting exploit code that can trick visitors to the page, according to a security vendor.

The MySpace page appears to have been compromised with an image of 8,000 pixels by 1,000 pixels, like a blank image, says Roger Thompson, a researcher at Exploit Prevention Labs. “The blank image is overlapping the page,” he says. “It’s in the background. If you happen to click on it, it takes you off to a place in China, which tries to get exploits into your system.”

Someone clicking the Keys page at random might touch the exploit image and be presented with a page that says you need an ActiveX control to see the page, Thompson says. “It’s a trick to get you to click on it and receive malicious code.”

Thompson, a malware expert, says it’s the first time he’s seen this type of image-based exploit code, which he describes in this video. Thompson says it isn’t clear whether just a few pages on MySpace have been compromised in some way or whether there’s a broader hack of MySpace.

Exploit Prevention Labs has notified MySpace about the issue. Other bands on the MySpace entertainment page that appear to have been hit by a similar exploit are Greements of Fortune, a French funk band, and Dykeenies, a rock band from Glasgow.