‘Storm Worm’ Presents New Challenges For Anti-Virus Programs And New Dangers For Computer Users
Posted October 16, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
In the ever-evolving world of computer viruses, a storm sits on the horizon.
Known as the “Storm Worm,” the malicious code is the latest innovation in so-called “malware,” pulling infected computers worldwide into a sea of spam and pop-ups.
And in that sense the Storm Worm is a very typical virus. In another sense however, experts predict it could one day be a weapon of much more widespread destruction. Despite being flagged more than a year ago, Storm Worm has proven to be rather resilient, and has the intelligence to monitor keystrokes and steal confidential information like user names, passwords and just about everything else people keep on their computer.
That confidential data could then be transferred to a communal server and sold, leaving almost no trace behind. And that’s what makes it so dangerous. Unlike other malware which is intended to create havoc and destroy computers, Storm Worm operates quietly, choosing instead to put money before headlines.
To date the Storm Worm is estimated to have infected roughly one million machines in its “botnet,” a network of hijacked computers that is centrally controlled and can be used to send spam to millions of inboxes.
The Storm Worm first made headlines in January when emails titled “230 dead as storm batters Europe ” were disseminated around the globe, giving it the name it carries today. A click on the story led to a compromised website that sent a copy of the virus onto computers and because there were no infected attachments in the email, it would typically be ignored by security software.
And that’s where things get tricky. Unlike other botnets, the Storm Worm’s network operates peer-to-peer, similar to the way music file sharing sites do. And with no central access point, it’s very difficult to trace and disable.
That the code used by the Storm Worm morphs constantly and doesn’t rely on email attachments is also a major factor, making it far more advanced than most of the spyware anti-virus programs are accustomed to finding and eradicating.
