Microsoft Corp. today said it is offering a $250,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for launching the “Conficker” computer worm, a threat that has infected millions of Microsoft Windows PCs over the past two months.
The reward is the most public acknowledgment yet of the damage inflicted by the Conficker worm - known to some anti-virus companies as “Downadup” — which wiggles into Microsoft systems primarily through a security hole in the Windows operating system.
Microsoft issued a software update in late October to help customers guard against the attack, but Conficker can spread even to systems that have already been patched, by piggybacking on removable media — such as USB drives — that launch the worm when connected to a Windows system.
“As part of Microsoft’s ongoing security efforts, we constantly look for ways to use a diverse set of tools and develop methodologies to protect our customers,” said George Stathakopoulos, general manager of Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing Group. “By combining our expertise with the broader community we can expand the boundaries of defense to better protect people worldwide.”
More:
http://portal.lacaterinca.com/microsoft-offers-250000-reward-for-conficker-worm-authors/
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The reward is the most public acknowledgment yet of the damage inflicted by the Conficker worm - known to some anti-virus companies as “Downadup” — which wiggles into Microsoft systems primarily through a security hole in the Windows operating system.
Microsoft issued a software update in late October to help customers guard against the attack, but Conficker can spread even to systems that have already been patched, by piggybacking on removable media — such as USB drives — that launch the worm when connected to a Windows system.
“As part of Microsoft’s ongoing security efforts, we constantly look for ways to use a diverse set of tools and develop methodologies to protect our customers,” said George Stathakopoulos, general manager of Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing Group. “By combining our expertise with the broader community we can expand the boundaries of defense to better protect people worldwide.”
More:
http://portal.lacaterinca.com/microsoft-offers-250000-reward-for-conficker-worm-authors/
Site Admin / Security Administrator
Virus Removal ~ OS Support ~ Have we helped you? Help us! ~ GeekChat
- Please PM me if I fail to respond within 24hrs.
