Privacy, Security & Virus Information

Worms can also be Propaganda Tools

Computer owners and users have had get used to the fact that there are hackers prowling in cyberspace who want to either destroy all the information and items of personal use that they can, just for the fun. In recent years computer hacking has become a much wider problem, simply because an increasing criminal element has emerged that work around the clock to infiltrate computer security in order to implant worms, malware or simply access sensitive information that will separate the unsuspecting from their money.

However something new and unprecedented turned up this week in the computer world. A development that might be just curiosity value but could the beginning of a whole new trend in hacking sent shockwaves across the United States where the attack was mainly focused. The shock waves came after a hacker, the self entitled "Iraq Resistance" released an e-mail worm that proved to be particularly effective, succeeding in generating a major upsurge in spam mails that caused some fairly central and supposedly virus proof systems to crash.

During and after the attack, a spokesman for Iraq Resistance actually made a computer generated announcement to the principal news agencies stating that the creation of the worm, known as "Here you have" was a tool to capture the attention of the American people, as well as those in the Western World, on the movement's views on the current global conflicts, and particularly the US role in Iraq.

Security experts who examined the worm were surprised to discover that only a few features contained in it had actually been activated, and if they had cared to do so, the hackers could have caused damage. The worm was found to contain password logging software as well as an efficient looking backdoor program.

While the Here you have worm's was fairly rapidly dealt with, the fact that a fairly sophisticated computer programmer had begun to us spamming and virus spreading as a means to capturing media attention to spread their message on a particular cause of political standpoint is worrying, opening a whole new front in the war against hacking. For the computer owning public, the only answer is to invest the finest computer virus protection software available. The battle to protect a computer's integrity will be hard fought and never ending, and the consequences of not taking care of security can be very far reaching.

 

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