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Virus Damage a Controversial Science

March 12, 2004 — Many observers consider the recent MyDoom virus to be the worst of all time, surpassing last year’s Sobig and MS Blaster viruses. But while MyDoom was certainly successful in wreaking havoc on the Internet, it had another effect, raising the question of how we can accurately measure and compare the impact of major viruses and other digital attacks.

Netsky, Bagle Viruses Spreading

According to estimates made by mi2g, the Netsky family of viruses, which only affects computers running Windows, has now reached the eighth position in mi2g’s ranking of the most damaging viruses ever. The total amount of damage wrought by the Netsky family is estimated by the firm to be between $6.7 and $8.2 billion.

MyDoom.F Drives RIAA Web Site Offline

The new variant of the MyDoom virus, called the fastest spreading and worst virus of all time, installs a DLL which opens a backdoor, allowing it to be attacked. According to Panda Software, when the system date of the infected machine is between the 17th and 22nd of any month and any year, the virus will launch a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack against the RIAA and Microsoft Web sites, with 2 out of 3 attacks targeting Microsoft.

BSD, Mac OS X Most Secure Web Server OS

February 20, 2004 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — The open source BSD family and Mac OS X based on Darwin are the most secure Web server operating systems, according to a monthly study conducted by mi2g Intelligence Unit (mi2g.net), a digital risk firm. The study also found that for the first time, Linux was the most frequently breached Web server operating system, while the number of successful attacks against Windows-based servers declined in January, continuing a trend that has transpired over the last 10 months.

February Sees Record Virus Damages

February 19, 2004 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — With more than a week remaining, February 2004 was the worst month ever for malware proliferation, breaking the record set last month, according to mi2g Intelligence Unit (mi2g.net), a digital risk firm.

Microsoft Source Code Leaked on Internet

February 13, 2004 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Software giant Microsoft (microsoft.com) said on Thursday that portions of source code for the Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0 operating systems have been leaked on the Internet illegally.

MyDoom Continues to Exploit Backdoor

Several reports estimate that MyDoom-infected machines number in the hundreds of thousands.

New Worm Targets MyDoom Infections

Mi2g says Deadhat is programmed to colonize infected machines, using them to perpetrate scams that may be used to make money. The group suggested that Deadhat was likely the product of organized crime.

Third MyDoom Variant Targets Microsoft

The new variant, MyDoom.c, is a stripped down version of the MyDoom.a and MyDoom.b versions of the virus. According to mi2g, MyDoom.c does not spread via email or through the Kazaa file sharing network, but through a backdoor in infected machines opened by MyDoom.a, the original variant of the virus.

MyDoom Coverage on BBC Creates Stir

The MyDoom virus, which first appeared just over a week ago and has become the fastest spreading malware ever, was programmed to launch a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack against the Web site of The SCO Group, a company that is currently embroiled in a legal battle with IBM over Linux licensing rights.