Better Business Bureau offers rogue script browser peril

Updated Rogue scripts on the scam advice website Better Business Bureau have sparked security concerns.

The issue was brought to our attention by Kevin, a server security consultant who said he informed BBB of the apparent problem on Saturday.

"I noticed a javascript redirect on the BBB Blogs site that seems to attempt to spawn an iframe to download (now deactivated) malware," he explained.

Kevin reckons the rogue script - captured in screenshots posted on imageshack here and here - was still running on the site on Monday afternoon.

"The malware link IS live, but the malware distribution page it's linking to seems to have gotten shutdown," Kevin clarified.

The Better Business Bureau was set up to provide small business in the US with advice on avoiding scams so it's a particular embarrassing place for links to malware to appear.

We exchanged messages with the Better Business Bureau on Monday afternoon and understand these messages have been passed on to the site's technicians.®

Bootnote

Better Business Bureau spokeswoman Katherine Hutt sent The Reg this statement:

BBB’s blog site, which is hosted by WordPress, was attacked by an unknown source over the weekend. The remote site that the hacker attempted to load did not work and does not appear to have been a significant security threat to BBB or any of its users. BBB runs several WordPress sites and only one was breached.

Chris Garver, Senior VP and Chief Information Officer with the Council of Better Business Bureaus, ran a thorough security check today and verified that the site is now clean. He is continuing to review the situation to determine how the attack was performed.

The bbb.org website receives over 6 million visitors a month who use BBB Business Reviews to look for trustworthy businesses and charities. After the Business Reviews, the blog is one of the most popular destinations on the site.