"Conficker" Infects 9 Million Over the Weekend

The Conficker malware outbreak has continued to spread among corporate PCs in what appears to be the biggest IT security breach in the past seven years.

Initially it was reported Conficker, or Downadup, focused on machines that weren't patched with a Microsoft emergency fix released last October (MS008-067).

However since then, the bug has evolved and is now able to spread to patched computers through portable USB drives.

Once in the machine, the worm can browse through the network the computer is connected to and copy itself to other machines, according to the article. This means users do not have to be at their computers or even logged on for the bug to spread.

Infected machines can potentially reveal users' personal and financial information, though it is unclear if that is the objective of the cybercriminals behind the attack. With the presidential inauguration scheduled for today, it's possible the cybercriminals may act then, since they traditionally like to coincide attacks with large events.

 
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