Worms reveal that hackers evolving from mischief to crime
The ugly new computer worms that wriggled their way onto the Internet last week didn't cause widespread damage or disruption — and that's what worries many security experts the most.
Unlike earlier generations of worms, Zotob, Rbot and their cousins were designed not to damage computers or networks, but to steal information and then secretly take over their host computers and turn them to other uses.
The experts say they are signs of an ongoing evolution in the hacker world from mere maliciousness to clear-cut crime.
"If you look at (past worms), they were all about notoriety and how to kill the Internet," said Peter Allor of Atlanta-based Internet Security Systems Inc. "This is more economic. It's about how to use malware in an organized fashion to get money."
"This is a new world," said Scott Lupfer of computer security company McAfee Inc. "A lot of us in the industry have known this was a possibility and could happen at some point. ... Now it has."
In the past, the intent of computer worms — which get their name from their ability to replicate themselves and travel from computer to computer without human intervention — was clear.
