Spotify ads ‘launched virus pop-ups’

Spotify says it has fixed a problem in its software that let rogue adverts automatically open virus-infected websites on a victim’s device.The so-called malvertising affected Spotify’s subscription-free service on Windows, Mac and Linux machines.People reported that virus-infected pop-up websites were appearing while they listened to music.Spotify said in a statement: “We have now identified the source of the problem and have shut it down.”It said “questionable website pop-ups” had affected a “small number of users”.Cybersecurity experts have warned that malvertising is on the rise, because the scale of popular advertising networks can be misused to push malicious content to a wide audience.”Malvertising can slip onto any platform or website that displays ads delivered by advertising networks,” said Jan Zika of antivirus firm Avast.”While malvertising is usually hosted on sites that provide illegal content such as movie downloads, it does occasionally make its way on to more mainstream platforms, such as Spotify.

Hack warnings prompt cyber ‘security fatigue’

Relentless cybersecurity warnings have given people “security fatigue” that stops them keeping themselves safe, suggests a study.Many ignored warnings they received, found the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).Others were worn out by software updates and by the number of passwords they had to remember, NIST found.This “risky behaviour” might make people more susceptible to attack, it warned.Inevitable attack”We weren’t even looking for fatigue in our interviews, but we got this overwhelming feeling of weariness throughout all of the data,” said computer scientist Mary Theofanos, one of the experts who co-ordinated the study.Responses from subjects revealed that many felt “overwhelmed” by having to be alert for digital threats at all times, remembering to act safely online and by the different security and privacy policies on the sites they used.Others were worn down by the number of passwords, Pins and other secure credentials they had to remember.”Years ago, you had one password to keep up with at work,” said Ms Theofanos. “Now people are being asked to remember 25 or 30.”