Skip the navigation

Protected companies need not fear Blackmal worm

Pest highlights need for consistency in identifying viruses

By Jaikumar Vijayan
January 31, 2006 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - The Blackmal e-mail worm, which is programmed to delete certain files on infected machines this Friday, should pose little threat to organizations that have implemented basic security best practices, according to analysts.
But the worm, which goes by more than a dozen different names, highlights the need once again for the industry to come to some sort of a consensus for identifying viruses in a standard fashion, they added.
The Blackmal threat, also known as Nyxem.E, Grew A., Kapser, Mywife and Kama Sutra, spreads via e-mail attachments or file shares.
According to a description of the worm on the SANS Institute Web site, once the worm infects a system on a network via e-mail, it tries to infect all shared file systems it has access to. The worm also attempts to disable and delete most antivirus products on the machine and then e-mails itself to others using a variety of file names and extensions, said Bethesda, Md.-based SANS.
The worm's payload is triggered to go off on the third of every month, when it deletes information from common file formats on the infected system.
"The worm regularly checks the system time. When the system data is the third of the month, 30 minutes after the victim machine is booted, Nyxem will delete information from common file formats, replacing data with a meaningless set of symbols," according to an advisory from Kaspersky Labs.
As a result, the consequences can be severe for users whose systems are infected by the worm, said Ken Dunham, director of malicious code research at iDefense Inc. in Reston, Va.
"Generally, we don't see that many worms sent out that attempt to delete data" on infected systems, Dunham said. "So obviously this is a concern. But it is more of a home- and small-office threat," he said.
For most larger enterprises, Blackmal presents a well-understood type of threat that is relatively easily blocked using up-to-date antivirus signatures and filtering techniques, he said.
"In most cases, blocking executable and unknown file types at the e-mail gateway is enough to prevent the worm from entering a network," according to an advisory by Chicago-based security firm Lurhq Corp., which also published Snort signatures to detect infections of the worm.
The worm also requires administrator rights to be present on a computer for it to do any damage, Dunham said. "In an enterprise network environment, they usually lock down such rights" to prevent code execution and installation, he said.
The fact that the worm does not attempt to get across virtual



Additional Resources
Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World
WHITE PAPER
Solving application issues over the WAN requires careful consideration. Based on their independent research, Forrester Consulting offers recommendations on how to tackle application performance issues, insufficient bandwidth and the inability to quickly restore users in a disaster.

Read now.

Security KnowledgeVault
WHITE PAPER
Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

Read now.

Cut Communications Costs Once and for All
WHITE PAPER
New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.

Read now.

Malware and Vulnerabilities White Papers
Reducing the Cost and Complexity of Web Vulnerability Management
Hackers and cybercriminals are constantly refining their attacks and targets; which means you need agile tools to stay ahead of them.

Download this...
Overcome Top 7 Admin Challenges of Active Directory
As Active Directory's role in the enterprise has drastically increased, so has the need to secure the data. Gain insight on creating repeatable,...
Insiders Can Ruin Your Company. Take Action.
Did you know that 80 percent of threats to an organization come from the inside? The threat from insiders is often overlooked in...
Top Solutions and Tools to Prevent Devastating Malware
Custom malware frequently goes undetected. According to Forrester Research, the best way to reduce risk of breach is to deploy file integrity monitoring...
Streamline Compliance and Increase ROI
Streamline, simplify, and automate compliance related activities; especially those that impact multiple business units. This white paper from NetIQ, outlines solutions that will...
All Malware and Vulnerabilities White Papers
Malware and Vulnerabilities Webcasts
Optimizing Networks for the Cloud
Join guest speaker, Rohit Mehra, IDC Director of Enterprise Communications Infrastructure, to explore current trends, discuss best practices for optimizing Data Center and...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 2: Designing and Deploying SQL Server on VMware vSphere
Download this webcast to learn about the design considerations for virtualizing SQL workloads, performance and scalability information and high-availability options, as well as...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 1: Designing and Deploying Exchange 2010 on VMware vSphere
Download this webcast to learn the virtual hardware design considerations for Exchange 2010, deployment using the building block approach, options for high-availability and...
Customer Spotlight: How IPC The Hospitalist Company Implemented Oracle on VMware
Have you been looking to hear about customer's experiences with the new VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager product? View this webcast to learn...
Virtualize Business-Critical Applications with Confidence
Virtualizing business-critical applications has become a key focus for organizations as they move along their virtualization journey. With the launch of VMware vSphere®...
All Malware and Vulnerabilities Webcasts
Newsletter Sign-Up

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter
  1. View all newsletters | Privacy Policy
IT Jobs