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Bluuuue Rajah wrote:
> Computer Experts Unite to Hunt Worm
>
> March 18, 2009
>
> nytimes.com/2009/03/19/technology/19worm.html
>
> An extraordinary behind-the-scenes struggle is taking place between
> computer security groups around the world and the brazen author of a
> malicious software program called Conficker.
>
> The program grabbed global attention when it began spreading late last
> year and quickly infected millions of computers with software code that
> is intended to lash together the infected machines it controls into a
> powerful computer known as a botnet.
>
> Since then, the program�s author has repeatedly updated its software in
> a cat-and-mouse game being fought with an informal international
> alliance of computer security firms and a network governance group known
> as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Members
> refer to the alliance as the Conficker Cabal.
>
> The existence of the botnet has brought together some of the world�s
> best computer security experts to prevent potential damage. The spread
> of the malicious software is on a scale that matches the worst of past
> viruses and worms, like the I Love You virus. Last month, Microsoft
> announced a $250,000 reward for information leading to the capture of
> the Conficker author.
>
> Botnets are used to send the vast majority of e-mail spam messages. Spam
> in turn is the basis for shady commercial promotions including schemes
> that frequently involve directing unwary users to Web sites that can
> plant malicious software, or malware, on computers.
>
> Botnets can also be used to distribute other kinds of malware and
> generate attacks that can take commercial or government Web sites off-
> line.
>
> One of the largest botnets tracked last year consisted of 1.5 million
> infected computers that were being used to automate the breaking of
> �captchas,� the squiggly letter tests that are used to force applicants
> for Web services to prove they are human.
>
> The inability of the world�s best computer security technologists to
> gain the upper hand against anonymous but determined cybercriminals is
> viewed by a growing number of those involved in the fight as evidence of
> a fundamental security weakness in the global network.
>
> �I walked up to a three-star general on Wednesday and asked him if he
> could help me deal with a million-node botnet,� said Rick Wesson, a
> computer security researcher involved in combating Conficker. �I didn�t
> get an answer.�
>
> An examination of the program reveals that the zombie computers are
> programmed to try to contact a control system for instructions on April
> 1. There has been a range of speculation about the nature of the threat
> posed by the botnet, from a wake-up call to a devastating attack.
>
> Researchers who have been painstakingly disassembling the Conficker code
> have not been able to determine where the author, or authors, is
> located, or whether the program is being maintained by one person or a
> group of hackers. The growing suspicion is that Conficker will
> ultimately be a computing-for-hire scheme. Researchers expect it will
> imitate the hottest fad in the computer industry, called cloud
> computing, in which companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Sun
> Microsystems sell computing as a service over the Internet.
>
> Earlier botnets were devised so they could be split up and rented via
> black market schemes that are common in the Internet underground,
> according to security researchers.
>
> The Conficker program is built so that after it takes up residence on
> infected computers, it can be programmed remotely by software to serve
> as a vast system for distributing spam or other malware.
>
> Several people who have analyzed various versions of the program said
> Conficker�s authors were obviously monitoring the efforts to restrict
> the malicious program and had repeatedly demonstrated that their skills
> were at the leading edge of computer technology.
>
> For example, the Conficker worm already had been through several
> versions when the alliance of computer security experts seized control
> of 250 Internet domain names the system was planning to use to forward
> instructions to millions of infected computers.
>
> Shortly thereafter, in the first week of March, the fourth known version
> of the program, Conficker C, expanded the number of the sites it could
> use to 50,000. That step made it virtually impossible to stop the
> Conficker authors from communicating with their botnet.
>
> �It�s worth noting that these are folks who are taking this seriously
> and not making many mistakes,� said Jose Nazario, a member of the
> international security group and a researcher at Arbor Networks, a
> company in Lexington, Mass., that provides tools for monitoring the
> performance of networks. �They�re going for broke.�
>
> Several members of the Conficker Cabal said that law enforcement
> officials had been slow to respond to the group�s efforts, but that a
> number of law enforcement agencies were now in �listen� mode.
>
> �We�re aware of it,� said Paul Bresson, an F.B.I. spokesman, �and we�re
> working with security companies to address the problem.�
>
> A report scheduled to be released Thursday by SRI International, a
> nonprofit research institute in Menlo Park, Calif., says that Conficker
> C constitutes a major rewrite of the software. Not only does it make it
> far more difficult to block communication with the program, but it gives
> the program added powers to disable many commercial antivirus programs
> as well as Microsoft�s security update features.
>
> �Perhaps the most obvious frightening aspect of Conficker C is its clear
> potential to do harm,� said Phillip Porras, a research director at SRI
> International and one of the authors of the report. �Perhaps in the best
> case, Conficker may be used as a sustained and profitable platform for
> massive Internet fraud and theft.�
>
> �In the worst case,� Mr. Porras said, �Conficker could be turned into a
> powerful offensive weapon for performing concerted information warfare
> attacks that could disrupt not just countries, but the Internet itself.�
>
> The researchers, noting that the Conficker authors were using the most
> advanced computer security techniques, said the original version of the
> program contained a recent security feature developed by an M.I.T.
> computer scientist, Ron Rivest, that had been made public only weeks
> before. And when a revision was issued by Dr. Rivest�s group to correct
> a flaw, the Conficker authors revised their program to add the
> correction.
>
> Although there have been clues that the Conficker authors may be located
> in Eastern Europe, evidence has not been conclusive. Security
> researchers, however, said this week that they were impressed by the
> authors� productivity.
>
> �If you suspect this person lives in Kiev,� Mr. Nazario said, �I would
> look for someone who has recently reported repetitive stress injury
> symptoms.�