Pfizer's own Computers Hijacked by Spammers to Send Viagra Spam

138 different IP addresses belonging to Pfizer have been caught sending Viagra spam. Those same IP addresses have at various points been included on blacklists used by many email spam filters.

On the surface, the evidence would suggest that Pfizer has joined the ranks of countless other companies using non-consensual email to promote its products. This however, does not appear to be the case.

As opposed to engaging in malicious behavior, it would seem that Pfizer's IT department just isn't on top of security issues. The computers using the IP addresses in question had been recruited into a botnet in order to do the owner's bidding. Botnet owners most commonly use them to send email advertising, but have also used them to launch denial of service attacks.

Potency drugs weren't the only items being pitched. The messages contained promotions for other drugs, fake watches and stocks. In fact, there appears to really be nothing linking the campaign to Pfizer beyond coincidence.

Pfizer has in the past had to deal with spammers selling generic Viagra under its brand name.

Pfizer has also suffered from other security problems in the past few months. A number of unrelated events have recently caused the release of nearly 50,000 different employee's personal files.

Back