Imagine a computer virus whose effects you can see, but whose nature you can`t identify, and which therefore you can`t track and delete with today`s anti-virus tools. It might seem far-fetched, but all indications are that such a virus is on the way. It`s known as a metamorphic virus, and its party trick is that it changes its characteristics and patterns every time it encounters a new PC. That means current-generation anti-virus tools can`t identify and delete it.
A few anti-virus vendors have pooh-poohed the notion of a metamorphic virus, but we`ve seen an ongoing battle being waged between virus writers and anti-virus vendors.
Ian Melamed, chief technology officer, SatelliteSafe
That could be a nightmare waiting to happen, and indications are that they will be here within three years. Consider how much damage was caused by I Love You and what a nuisance the Anna Kournikova virus was, and they were easily picked up by stock-standard anti-virus packages, where these had been properly installed. A virus which constantly mutates would be a different matter.
The metamorphic virus, at this stage only conceptual, is related to the polymorphic virus, well known in the information security field.
A few anti-virus vendors have pooh-poohed the notion of a metamorphic virus, but we`ve seen an ongoing battle being waged between virus writers and anti-virus vendors. Just as one seems to be getting the upper hand, so the other comes out with a new device.
So you can take it as a given that metamorphic viruses will be here soon, and that anti-virus vendors will have a response shortly thereafter. This is an indication that the virus war still has a long way to go, and you really do need to keep your anti-virus definitions updated, irrespective of what`s out there.
* There`s scarcely a week that passes without news of a new Microsoft-related security flaw. This time, though, it`s Microsoft itself that has warned of a major vulnerability in Outlook Express that could allow an attacker to trick a user to run malicious code, thereby giving them control of the user`s PC. The bug concerns the vCard, or virtual business card, component of Outlook, which contains a buffer overflow vulnerability. A vCard containing malicious code could cause mail to crash, or run hostile code on a PC. Microsoft warns: "Such code could take any desired action, limited only by the permissions of the recipient on the machine. It could take any action the user himself could take, including adding, changing or deleting data, communicating with Web sites, reformatting the disk drive, and other actions." As Outlook Express is shipped with Internet Explorer, Microsoft has issued a patch for the browser, which it recommends users install with all haste.
* The Internet makes it easier than ever to commit credit card fraud; so it comes as no surprise to see that fraud of this nature rocketed 50% in the European Union last year; illicit transactions topped $553 million!
* And from Hong Kong comes the news that a hacker will spend a year in jail for harassing two women with obscene e-mail. Cyber-stalking is widespread, but this is the first conviction in the territory.
* That pales against the behaviour of a man arrested on a rush-hour commuter train in Massachusetts for filming up a woman`s skirt with a hidden camera and watching the broadcast live on his laptop computer. David Gould (47) had the camera concealed between his knees. Police have obtained a search warrant to examine the computer`s files to see if more charges are warranted.
* Hacking is fun, isn`t it, and hackers are really just nice, misunderstood people who are plying their trade in our best interests? Or that`s what the hacking apologists would have us believe. Well, their altruism cost European businesses $4.3 billion in lost revenue last year, according to a study of 3 000 businesses worldwide. The study shows that lapses in security cost companies between 5.7% and 7% of annual revenue, or 6 cents for every dollar in sales. Omni Consulting has some sobering comment: "Online security problems are growing faster than anyone can imagine. That whole issue could explode. When hackers break into company source code, you`re into billions of dollars that just walked out the door."
* Further evidence that hackers are not the benevolent saviours of mankind they make themselves out to be comes with the news that hacker group Sm0ked Crew is responsible for the recent defacements of various-high profile company Web sites, including Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Gateway, Intel (twice), AltaVista and Disney`s Go.com. They also infiltrated the business section of New York Times online. They`ve made use of a well-known hole, dubbed the IIS Unicode exploit, in Microsoft`s Internet Information Server. Microsoft released a patch for the hole in August 2000, but companies are still vulnerable because their system administrators typically haven`t implemented the patch. Other sites defaced this month include the University of South Florida and Taiwan`s Board of Foreign Trade. Sm0ked Crew give the whole game away with their quote: "Defacing top sites give us power in the community." Sm0ked Crew has promised lots more defacements.
* A US scientist, Dr Michael Rabin, has developed a code that he proves mathematically can`t be cracked. This means security can become an absolute. The New York Times has reported on the new code, attracting industry-wide comment, some of it positive, but with many dissenters saying the concept is impractical.
(Sources: Yahoo, Hacker News Network, Associated Press and Computergram.)
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