Virus ‘Conficker ‘Strikes Australian Rail Corporation

According to security researchers, a number of computer systems at Rail Corporation had contacted infection from the Conficker worm although there was no operational disruption on account of the malware.

Nevertheless, the patching and other security measures at the organization ensured that most of the systems in its network weren't exposed to the worm, the researchers stated.

A corporation's spokesperson said that the worm infected systems had been separated from the network and there was no disruption in the operations or loss of operational capacity of Rail Corp, as reported by ZDNet Australia on October 6, 2009.

While describing the attack, security specialists said that Conficker uses an exploit in Microsoft Server or Microsoft Windows to access the infected systems. The worm disseminated either through remote summoning of other systems for procedural operations or through external devices like USB sticks.

Besides, the worm has several variants. An independently running electronic journal in Australia namely 'Crikey' printed a photograph that showcased an error message being exhibited on certain base screen. The worm was being detected as its B variant.

Microsoft stated that the Conficker could potentially stop services like Windows Update from running. It could even prevent end-users from accessing websites, which had words like 'Windows Update,' 'malware' or 'virus.' The worm could also bar users from accessing personal accounts.

According to computer security specialists, the worm that could allow miscreants compromise PCs running Microsoft's Windows operating system hasn't been able to make significant impact in Australia and some don't even regard it as anything dangerous.

An Australia's Computer Emergency Response Team (AusCERT) spokesman stated that tracking down web traffic had shown Conficker on approximately 2,600 Australian IP addresses that were hardly comparable to the innumerable detections overseas, as reported by Australian IT on October 6, 2009.

However, both Microsoft and GovCERT, Australian federal Attorney General's computer emergency response agency, have alerted network operators in Australia to stay guarded.

Related article: Virus Infects Through USB Drives

» SPAMfighter News - 10/22/2009