Conflicker: Our digital Pearl Harbor?

Conflicker poised to turn millions of computers into zombies

Zombies - the name given to computers taken over by malicious software controlled by criminal gangs - are getting world-wide attention as a Ukrainian worm called Conflicker lurks in up to 30 percent of the world's personal and business computers waiting for its masters to tell it to begin its attack.

"Current estimates are that up to 30 percent of the world's computers are already infected, with thousands more joining in every day as the worm continues to weave its way through unprotected machines and networks that didn't install Microsoft's security fix last October when Conflicker became visible," explained Glenn C. Obert, owner of WebfootEnterprises.com in Pensacola.

"Everyone is on pins and needles waiting for its masters to signal it to proceed from installation to attack, and when that many zombies instantly attack together, it will cause destruction not seen since Slammer hit in 2003, disabling more than 9-million computers in one day," Obert added.

The New York Times quoted Rick Wesson, chief executive of Support Intelligence, a computer security consulting firm based in San Francisco, who said, “If you’re looking for a digital Pearl Harbor, we now have the Japanese ships steaming toward us on the horizon.”

Other published reports say that security experts expect Conflicker to trigger within the next few days, to no longer than the next few weeks. When it does, they predict it will be used to steal financial information such as accounts and passwords, and then loot the computers' owners' bank accounts and other financial instruments - all in just a few seconds after triggering.

While no one knows for sure specifically who is behind this threat, the thinking goes that it is authored by Ukrainian criminal mobsters. The giveaway is that Conflicker looks to see if the infected computer uses a Ukrainian keyboard layout, and if it does, then it will not infect that computer.

In line with that thinking, Obert said he believes that "they want to keep the local police authorities off their backs."

He even laughs about conspiracy theorists who are telling people that, "considering the world economy, who knows if some black-bag spy agency in the Ukrainian government isn't involved to fill up the country's depleted coffers. Who knows? Anything's possible with Conflicker."
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