Malware authors exploiting Conficker

Creators of Waledac malware have used the Conficker botnet as a tool to spread malware of their own, marking the first time Conficker was made available for hire, according to Cisco.

Writing in its mid-yearly security report, Cisco said that this was symptomatic of a wider trend of malware purveyors using established business practices to expand their illegal enterprises. Cisco likened the arrangement between Waledac and Conficker to a partner ecosystem, a term Cisco uses to describe its collaboration with other vendors.

Waledac used the Conficker distribution channel to send spam and to expand its own botnet, said Cisco.