Conficker has so far failed to unleash the internet
chaos many predicted on 1 April when the worm was expected to
contact criminal command and control centres.
Some security suppliers scrambled ahead of the supposed
activation date to capitalise on a recent
technology breakthrough that allows anti-virus systems to
penetrate the worm's camouflaging capability.
It remains to be seen whether Conficker was just another
marketing opportunity like the
Michelangelo
virus.
The supplier community has not done itself a service by sounding
another warning about a
threat that has failed to materialise, says John Colley, Emea
managing director of (ISC)2.
Security professionals are unlikely to be swayed by such hype
and follow instead the basic principle of ensuring all systems are
patched and up to date, he says.
But even security experts who have downplayed the hype around
Conficker have emphasised that the true nature and purpose of the
worm is still unknown.
"We may not know what Conficker is going to do, but its authors
are clearly malicious enough that we do not want their crud on our
networks," says
Dan Kaminsky, director of penetration testing at IOActive.
With over 10 million machines worldwide said to be infected,
most security experts are still urging caution.
In the run-up to 1 April, analyst firm Gartner advised the
deadline should not be taken too seriously, but stopped short of
dismissing Conficker as a threat.
Conficker is a serious problem that businesses must address,
says Gartner analyst Joe Pescatore.
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