Although worms can create media furor and disrupt business, to date they have adhered to a strange dichotomy: A given worm may spread rapidly or deliver a destructive payload -- but no worm has accomplished both tasks with equal aplomb.
The Internal Revenue Service is as serious about auditing its computer systems as it is about tax returns. So when the W.32Blaster worm and subsequent attacks wreaked havoc on computer systems across the world, the federal agency was prepared: The IRS used autonomic computing software to distribute the appropriate Microsoft Corp. patch to more than 5,000 servers and 125,000 desktops and laptops across the nation.
A COMPUTER CONSULTANT has claimed that he first noticed the RPC Blaster worm coming from a box based in China, meaning it's going to be harder than US investigators think to get to the real perps.
Last week we reported that the Taiwanese government, in an unprecedented statement, claimed that the Chinese government was responsible for a series of cyberattacks on the island. (See Taiwan accuses China of waging Cyberwar).
But now Carey Hogan, a Canadian computer consultant, claims he has evidence that the Blaster worm started appearing in China before it ended up .
A new Internet worm has surfaced that criticizes British Prime Minister Tony Blair and launches an attack attempting to knock a UK government Web site off the Internet, according to anti-virus software provider Sophos.
The worm, dubbed "Quaters," spreads via e-mail using a variety of subject lines, such as "Your Account Information," and spreads in Internet chat relay systems posing as an attempt to break an Internet chain mail world record.
Anti-virus experts are watching a new Windows virus that popped up in a few mailboxes Thursday and tries to entice gullible users with references to the upcoming anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Known alternately as Neroma or the 911 virus, the new piece of malware is considered a low risk as it doesn't do any damage to infected machines. It uses the familiar pattern of looking through users' Outlook address books and mailing a copy of itself to each address it finds.
Antivirus researchers late Wednesday discovered what is being described as the first of potentially many "9/11" anniversary viruses spreading on the Internet.
Computer technicians are fighting a losing battle against out-of-control systems viruses, it was claimed on Wednesday.
The latest research suggests the way viruses are being fought is fundamentally flawed, New Scientist magazine says.
The viruses are spreading at a quicker rate than the speed at which anti-virus patches can be distributed, according to experts at Hewlett-Packard in Bristol.
By the time anti-virus software catches up, the damage has already been done, they say.
AV firms are warning of the appearance of a new Internet worm which attempts to launch a distributed denial of service attack on the Downing Street website.
The Quaters worm spreads via email, using a variety of subject lines relating to account information, and by internet chat systems posing as an attempt to break an Internet chain mail world record. Few incidents of the worm have been spotted thus far, and it doesn't appear to be any great risk, nonetheless the overtly political nature of the worm is likely to capture the attention of UK authorities.
Ever since Brain, the very first computer virus, was created in 1986, the antivirus researcher who discovers a new worm or virus is generally given the honor of naming it.
Now, 65,000 viruses later and counting, those intrepid researchers are still managing to come up with new monikers for malicious software.
There are the ever-popular intimidating names: Blaster, Chernobyl, Code Red, Hybris, Goner, Slapper and Slammer.
Less popular these days are playful, perky names: Pretty Park, Birthday, Happy Monday, Smile, New Love and Teddy Bear.
Security spending set to soar following unprecendented success of next-generation worms. IT directors are being forced to spend more of their IT budgets on security as a result of the recent virus plague spearheaded by Blaster and SoBig.
According to market watcher IDC, the devastating impact of these virus attacks is fuelling security spending, a trend that will continue over the next five years to create a market worth $4.4bn.
