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Waves of viruses: twenty first century crime
When a virus programmer decides to launch a new malicious code into cyberspace, the obvious question that goes through many of our minds is: Why? The answer however, is not so obvious. Many malicious users hide behind the false excuse of security. They want, they claim, to demonstrate that the Internet is not secure, and so they create and unleash a virus to prove the point.
It is also worth mentioning that in many cases the aim is purely one of gaining notoriety, so the further a virus spreads, the greater the kick they get from it. Also, for many years now, both hackers and virus creators have been considered highly intelligent individuals with the consequent downside of them becoming role models, especially for young people.
The last week however, has witnessed a series of viral variants that have thrown a new light on the issue of the motives of virus creators. Let's take a look at how events have unfolded:
January 26, Monday. The Mimail.Q virus appeared. The malicious code displays a form, supposedly from Microsoft, that tries to trick users into entering credit card details. There can be no doubt that the creator intended to steal from the user.
January 27, Tuesday. The Mydoom.A worm appears. In this case, it doesn't try to get information so directly. This worm with designed to hit companies, leaving a port open so that attackers can just 'step in' and have a look around for themselves to find the information they are after.
January 28, Wednesday. After the A variant, the Mydoom.B worms appears in cyberspace, using techniques similar to its predecessors' to let attackers into corporate networks. As a subtle refinement, it also prevents certain antivirus applications from updating correctly.
January 29,Thursday. The Mimail.S virus is detected and brought under control. Once again it tries to con users that fall victim to the virus. And through the most direct channel: getting them to give credit card information.
Coincidence? If it were just two viruses, maybe, but four? Surely not. All indications are that this wave of viruses is part of an well orchestrated campaign with more sinister motives.
One scenario could be that the authors of each type of virus are benefiting mutually from the success of their respective creations. The alarm generated by Mydoom.A.worm, obviously has led to a situation in which any new virus would receive far more attention than at any other time.
However, think the worst and you'll probably be right! Another alternative is rather more worrying. If we look at what both types of virus have in common. The two new variants of Mimail are designed to steal bank details. The two Mydoom worms hit corporate networks and create a backdoor through which an attacker could gain access to confidential information.
So, there is now a great deal of confidential information - credit card numbers, passwords, PINS, etc -falling directly into the hands of those who created the malicious code.
Following the same theory, imagine that the creator of all these viruses is the same person or people, and imagine the amount of confidential data now in their hands. What can they do with it? Firstly, they could cause untold financial chaos: online purchases, bank transfers, changes to passwords, changes to account user names. It's easy to understand how difficult it would be to track down the culprit. So the virus authors would make a fortune and have a strong chance of getting away scot-free.
So let's stop kidding ourselves: forget about free software, IT monopolies, freedom of speech and all of that. The most plausible explanation is that the virus creators are just plain thieves with yet another scheme to get rich quick.
Fernando de la Cuadra
International Technical Editor
Panda Software (http://www.pandasoftware.com)
E-mail: Fdelacuadra@pandasoftware.com
Luis Alberto Contreras
Technical writer
Panda Software (http://www.pandasoftware.com)
E-mail: lcontreras@pandasoftware.es
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