Tag: worm

Microsoft Releases Patch for 17-Year-Old Bug

Better late than never—Microsoft has released an update to a major vulnerability that is some 17 years old.

Microsoft and security researchers are keen to prevent another WannaCry disaster, which has prompted a renewed focus on Windows vulnerabilities. Israeli security firm Check Point has discovered a vulnerability, called SigRed, that has the potential to be just as bad.

The vulnerability scores a CVSS Base score of 10, meaning it is as bad of a vulnerability as can exist. Microsoft also describes it as “a wormable vulnerability, meaning that it has the potential to spread via malware between vulnerable computers without user interaction. DNS is a foundational networking component and commonly installed on Domain Controllers, so a compromise could lead to significant service interruptions and the compromise of high level domain accounts.”

According to Check Point, every version of Windows Server, from 2003 to 2019, are equally vulnerable. This gives hackers an enormous target to take advantage of. Microsoft has released an update today, as part of Patch Tuesday. All organizations are strongly encouraged to update immediately.

“We strongly recommend users to patch their affected Windows DNS Servers in order to prevent the exploitation of this vulnerability,” says Check Point. “We believe that the likelihood of this vulnerability being exploited is high, as we internally found all of the primitives required to exploit this bug, which means a determined hacker could also find the same resources. In addition, some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) may even have set up their public DNS servers as WinDNS.”

System admins should waste no time applying this patch, as hackers will waste no time trying to take advantage of SigRed.

July 15, 2020
This Robot Worm Looks Like A Chinese Finger Trap

There are multiple robots out there that can perform a variety of functions. Just yesterday, we saw a robot that can perform Jewish mourning rituals. If a robot can perform religious rites, surely it can also move like a worm. Researchers at MIT, Harvard and Seoul National University must have thought the exact same thing.

Meet Meshworm, it’s a robot that’s encased in a “flexible, meshlike tube that makes up its body.” The inside of the robot is controlled by what the researchers call “artificial muscle” that’s made up of wire made from nickel and titanium. It moves by using heat to stretch and contract the wires. Here’s the meshworm in action:

While I think the robot looks more like a Chinese finger trap, the scientists say the design is meant to mimic the lowly earthworm. They say that earthworms, snails and sea cucumbers move through a process called peristalsis. By that, they mean that the worm moves by “alternatively squeezing and stretching muscles along the length of their bodies.”

What makes the Meshworm so unique, beyond its movement, is that its more resilient than a regular earthworm. You can step on Meshworm and it will keep on moving. The materials that make up the robot can’t be damaged so easily as they’re made of soft materials that are meant to bend under pressure.

So what could Meshworm mean for the future of robotics? It would make robots more versatile and able to stand more damage than their counterparts. The scientists at MIT specifically mention these robots as being able to “explore hard-to-reach spaces and traverse bumpy terrain.”

What may be the most interesting part about this robot is that the scientists say it’s showing signs of “body morphing capability.” For all the futurists terrified of a robot controlled future, this is where you start to get afraid. If a robot is suitably soft enough, it could potentially mold itself into any object. The robot might even be your next door neighbor – mild mannered Mr. Johnson. I bet you never thought he was a robot, but he never thought the cute caterpillar was a robot either until it was too late.

August 10, 2012
The Evolution Of The Computer Virus

The computer virus, or just malware in general, is unique among computer programs because it evolves just like a real virus. It can change and mutate into stronger viruses that can cripple your computer and make you spend hundreds of dollars on malware software that may not even do anything.

All the computer virus carnage had to start somewhere, but where? The good people at TrendLabs have tossed up a little infographic that seeks to give us a look into how the computer virus has evolved over the years. The origin may surprise you since the first computer virus was made in 1986, created by two Pakistani brothers. It was called Brain and it was a file infector. The next two viruses, Michelangelo (1992) and Melissa (1999), attacked hard drives and servers.

Once we got into the 2000s, that’s when the virus infection went global and began causing the mass damage that we see today. This era saw the introduction of the Worm virus that could be sent via email. Then things got really nasty with the introduction of Trojans. Viruses prior to this were made, as the infographic points out, for fame and notoriety. People were just doing it for the attention. Trojans were made for an entirely different reason – to steal your information.

If you thought that it couldn’t get any worse, enter the current era of malware attacks over social networks. Facebook and Twitter users are targeted with fake ads and applications that hijack their account and steal their personal information. Facebook and Twitter are actively waging a war against such attacks, but it’s going to keep happening until virus makers find a new target. The best way to protect yourself is to remain vigilant and not click on that Facebook link that asks you to install an application just to view a picture.

Check out the full infographic below. It’s absolutely mind blowing that the computer virus has come so far and they will grow even more complex and terrifying. We’re already seeing viruses fusing with worms to become a super virus.

March 18, 2012
Scary New Virus Will Make Your Computer Cry

It’s natural for viruses to mutate in nature and become stronger over time. The scary thing is that it’s now happening to computer viruses.

Mutating viruses are nothing new, they are used to infect machines in a way that can’t be stopped by traditional anti-virus software. The problem comes in with a new report from Softwin, the Romania based anti-virus software company that makes BitDefender, that says they have found multiple instances of computers being infected by worms that have previously been infected by a virus. They consider it a new “Frankenstein piece of malware” that has the potential to cause a lot of damage.

For those who perhaps don’t know a lot of viruses and worms, a worm is usually an executable file while a virus infects executables. The inevitable problem arises when a virus infects the executable that a worm resides in.

Fortunately, the researchers at BitDefender have no evidence at this point that the new super virus is any worse than a traditional virus. The concern is that worms are better at moving through systems, so a virus attached to a worm will have an easier time moving through a system.

The research team found 40,000 instances of the mutated malware out of a sample of 10 million files. One example was a virus designed to create back doors for hackers infected a worm that steals passwords. Their combination resulted in a mutation that could steal passwords while simultaneously creating a backdoor for the hacker to access the stolen information.

PhysOrg brings up an interesting point in that a virus’ main goal is to cause destruction. So in theory, a virus should destroy whatever it infects including the worm. The researchers never addressed this, but there’s a possibility that the virus could destroy the worm before it does any damage.

The researchers say that the combination of the two malware types was unintentional. The issue raised now is that hackers know it’s possible to combine the two. If it does occur, it could “pose a very serious threat to computers and networks the world over.”

For more examples of how this new super virus can destroy your computer, check out an expert analysis here.

January 27, 2012
Facebook Publicly Unmasks Koobface Hackers

The New York Times reported yesterday on a powerful “web gang” that have been pocketing millions of dollars from unsuspecting web surfers using a worm dubbed “Koobface” (an anagram of “Facebook”). Apparently, it is known who they are. It is known where they are. It is known how they do what they do. But, no one is touching them.

The men involved in this enterprise have been the subject of much investigation by Facebook’s security team, as well as by independent researcher Jan Droemer. But, it’s not like they are taking pains to hide. They post photos of their vacation trips to Monte Carlo, Spain and casinos in Germany. They check in on FourSquare.

“We’ve had a picture of one of the guys in a scuba mask on our wall since 2008,” said Ryan McGeehan, manager of investigations and incident response at Facebook.

The five men in this “gang” are:

* Anton Korotchenko AKA “KrotReal”
* Stanislav Avdeyko AKA “leDed”
* Svyatoslav E. Polichuck AKA “PsViat” and “PsycoMan”
* Roman P. Koturbach AKA “PoMuc”
* Alexander Koltysehv AKA “Floppy.”

Yes, they are Russian. And they operate openly in central St. Petersburg. Which explains why the FBI have not nabbed them. In the absence of cooperation with the police in Russia, Facebook decided to out these guys publicly.

“People who engage in this type of stuff need to know that their name and real identity are going to come out eventually and they’re going to get arrested and they’re going to be targeted,” Joe Sullivan, chief security officer at Facebook said. “People are fighting back.”

How Koobface works, and how you can protect yourself from it, was the topic of an excellent write-up on Sophos.

January 17, 2012