July 10, 2009

UPDATE: Cyber Attacks May Target Your Computer Next

South Korea announced today that the cyber attacks that targeted scores of South Korean and U.S. Web sites was designed to morph into a more dangerous direction at 12:00 GMT today. Even as the announcement was made, the malicious codes broke into tens of thousands of local personal computers and started wiping hard drives.

The Korea Communications Commission said more than 350 computers were reported damaged as of Friday, but warned that the number could quickly rise, since up to 50,000 have been contaminated by the latest wave of cyber attacks.

South Korea's Intelligence agency, the NIS, told lawmakers on Friday that the hackers responsible for the attacks used 86 IP addresses in 16 countries. The countries include South Korea, the United States, Japan, China, Turkey, and Guatemala. But the spy agency cautioned it was too early to conclude that North Korea was responsible as the investigations were still under way. Some analysts have questioned the North's involvement, saying it may be the work of industrial spies or pranksters.

The breach of US government websites including those tasked with securing America's IT networks should be a cause of concern for security professionals. Our vulnerability to even the most unsophisticated of malicious codes should be a wake-up call.

Gerard Group recommends that network administrators take immediate measures to harden their security defenses. Firewalls should be re-set to the highest security levels. Counter-viral systems should be updated and set to scan all incoming and outgoing email utilizing heuristic algorithms at high security settings.

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