Summer of worms: August’s child is a virus writer

Abstract

While seasonally, the month of March is credited with coming in like a lamb and going out like a lion, the month of August quickly upstaged it with a viral storm front that caught even experts by surprise. Amid the chaos of Blaster, Welchia, Dumaru and SoBig.F, an overzealous antivirus industry raised the bar with all-too-revealing press disclosures and faulty alert mechanisms. The former resulted in premature disclosure of where the SoBig.F binaries were posted (the virtual equivalent of knocking on the door of a crack house and telling the occupants the police are watching), and the latter created its own form of a denial-of-service attack against unsuspecting and innocent users — not to mention assisting the worm in spreading further. Add to the mix widespread vulnerabilities affecting a vast user base known for unpatched systems and outdated protection, and one has a veritable recipe for disaster.