Sophos: Hackers Reach New Low With Claims Nick Berg is Alive

Experts at Sophos are warning computer users that a file claiming to contain video footage showing that American captive Nick Berg is alive and well in Iraq actually contains the same Trojan (Troj/Hackarmy-A) which posed as a suicide note from Arnold Schwarzenegger and photographs claiming Osama Bin Laden had killed himself.

The latest message, posted to tens of thousands of newsgroups, claims that Aljazeera has released video footage of the beheaded American. This message reads as follows:

‘Conspiracy theories of Nick Berg being alive and well in Iraq have today been proven true. Aljazeera have released video footage of the supposedly beheaded American captive. The clip was first “discovered” on an Islamic website in Malaysia and has now been released by American Journalists collaborating with Aljazeera. The evidence speaks for itself and viewed firsthand here. ‘

“Duping innocent users into believing that Nick Berg is in fact alive shows hackers stooping to a new low,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. “This gruesome insensitivity is a despicable ploy to get curious computer users to download malicious files. The people behind Hackarmy are well versed in using morbid tricks to entice unsuspecting users – having recently claimed that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Osama Bin Laden were dead. This time, in an attempt to infect yet more PCs, they’ve resorted to claims that someone who was brutally killed is in fact alive.”

Sophos continues to recommend that computer users practise safe computing and keep their anti-virus and firewall defences up-to-date. More information about the Hackarmy Trojan can be found at