[ news_security_news ]
NyxemD: The Little Worm That Didn’t
John Stith
Staff Writer
2006-02-06
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
NyxemD, perhaps better known as the Kama Sutra worm had the potential to be very nasty. Fortunately, people paid attention and cleaned it from their computers. Damage was minimal and that's a good sign. The tallies are coming with the statistics. What did they say?
The NyxemD would wipe out many files in the hard drive, many of which some people considered vital. The worm did spread to a number of computers. A report by the Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA) gave the run down on the virus. It said, "We estimate that between 469,507 and 946,835 computer in more than 200 countries were infected by the Nyxem."
F-Secure talked to folks at the Indian security firm Quickheal and they said:
Now I am receiving reports form various branch office across India and it seems that around 230 to 250 users had real damage done to their systems. The number of computer counts can go up to 500 as most of the users were home users and offices having 3 to 5 computers. I believe the actual number of systems damaged will be more as its difficult to reach out to people who have faced it.
The CAIDA had this final word to say:
Overall, Nyxem provided a relatively rare opportunity to get an in-depth look at the global spread of an otherwise mundane email virus. Other forms of malicious software (viruses, worms, bot software) spread more quickly, more stealthily, and more widely. Many allow the theft of financial information from unsuspecting victims. Others allow long-term control of compromised computers for malicious purposes. Gaining significant ground towards secure networked computing will require progress in three major areas: software engineering to prevent security holes in the first place, mitigation techniques to minimize the damage caused by known and unknown security flaws in deployed software, and user education regarding the dangers of trusting unknown content.
Add to | DiggThis| Yahoo My Web
About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
More news_security_news Articles
Insider Reports RSS Feed
|
|
iEntry 10th Anniversary
RSS
Archive
