New hacker tool could target Web servers
Source: CNet News
Companies with servers running Microsoft's database application should watch out for a new hacker tool that scans and then infects systems, network security experts warned on Wednesday.
The hacker tool, named "Voyager Alpha Force," has already been used to infect more than 300 computers, said Elias Levy, chief technology officer at SecurityFocus.com.
That is a small percentage of the hundreds of thousands of computers that were infected by the Code Red and Nimda computer worms in August and September, and the tool heavily relies on the unreliable Internet relay chat (IRC) system, reducing the threat of the tool.
However, even a few hundred machines could be used to cause some trouble, Levy said. Although the computers that have been infected with the new tool have not yet been used to shut down Web servers via a distributed denial of service attack, they easily could be, he said.
"It's a weapon that is waiting for someone to pull the trigger," he said.
