Conficker - Why it can happen again

Posted Monday, November 23, 2009 4:55 PM by hwaldron

 

Storm While I disagree with many of the specific reasons noted in the article, I agree with the overall premise that it can happen again.  Folks need to stay patched up and protect their systems with multiple layers of defenses.  There are certainly improvements there, but there's also a greater need for more participants in the process. 

It was estimated that only 1/3 of all PCs had the proper patches in place weeks after they were available when the first variant of Conficker appeared in the wild.  There's not been a substantial improvement in folks staying patched up, although many have learned valuable lessons.

Conficker - Why it can happen again
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/10-Reasons-Why-Conficker-Can-Happen-Again-103283/

QUOTE: The Conficker worm affected users nearly one year ago. But now that it has left the headlines, there might be a false sense of security in the Windows ecosystem. There shouldn't be. Even the most up-to-date security programs are hard-pressed to keep up with the latest threats. There are countless millions of PCs and thousands of applications that aren't protected by the latest security software or have never been patched to close known security flaws. There is no telling when some new virus or Trojan as cunningly malicious as Conficker will appear.

It was just under a year ago that the Conficker worm was first detected. It was ravaging Windows PCs all over the world. The worm exploits Windows flaws to link the host computer to virtual command that can be controlled by the worm's remote authors. Conficker still controls millions of computers all over the world.

Comments

# re: Conficker - Why it can happen again

Monday, November 23, 2009 7:25 PM by CablingContractor

Good article, however it would be nice if the IT community could find a way to proactively minimize or practically eradicate hackers vs. react to their moves.