Computer Virus Infects German Army Network

The Defense Ministry of Germany has announced that a harmful computer virus known as 'Conficker' invaded several hundred PCs of the German Army. The virus attacks started on February 12, 2009.

Although the computer experts repaired the damaged machines, they advised not to open any unknown file coming with an e-mail as it might have carried a virus.

Meanwhile, according to the officials of the army, the computer restoration specialists within the army along with a private firm were cleaning the PCs off the virus.

However, the army commanders suggested disconnecting all of the army service departments' PCs from the Net to block the virus from spreading.

Security experts said that the recent computer virus has upset end-users around the world during the past few weeks, but it was believed that the security conscious military users were probably better equipped to overcome it. As per the reports, the virus has spread to nearly 10 Million Windows PCs globally ever since its maiden appearance during October 2008.

Notably, the Conficker worm has already attacked computer networks of defense departments in various countries. For instance, France was hit by the worm in its military systems in the middle of January 2009. Meanwhile, Britain's Defense Ministry too admitted facing problems on account of the virus. The French navy said that during the days when it was eradicating the malware, it had to resort to the traditional modes of communication like fax, telephone and post.

Security specialists reveal that many hackers who operate outside the administrative boundaries of Western law enforcement agencies have been directing these attacks. For example, in the erstwhile Soviet Union, these hackers seemed to get protection from government officials and/or organized crime gangs. In China, they are assumed to be getting secret funds from the Chinese military.

Security specialists further state that the best method to overthrow probable Conficker botnets is to have the Domain Name System and security communities to work in co-operation.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced a $250,000 reward for anyone capturing the individual responsible for the virus that compromises Windows OS, downloads malware and cracks passwords.

Related article: Computer Virus Writers Adopt New Strategy

» SPAMfighter News - 2/26/2009