FW: AOL News: New 'War Vote' Virus Deletes Computer Files

[Farnsworth Midge D Contr 388 RANS]

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Sent: September 25, 2001 8:15 AM
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Subject: Fw: AOL News: New 'War Vote' Virus Deletes Computer Files



New 'War Vote' Virus Deletes Computer Files

By Elinor Mills Abreu
Reuters

SAN FRANCISCO (Sept. 24) - Security experts on Monday warned of a brand
new 
virus masquerading as a program that will allow people to vote whether
the 
United States should go to war over the deadly Sept. 11 hijacker attacks,
but 
which deletes computer files instead. 

The "Vote Virus" is spreading via e-mail to users of Microsoft Corp.'s 
Outlook e-mail program, said Simon Perry, vice president of security 
solutions at Computer Associates International Inc.

The virus appears with the subject line: "Peace between America and
Islam!" 
and the body of the e-mail reads: "Hi. Is it a war against America or
Islam!? 
Let's vote to live in peace!" Perry said. 

When the attachment entitled "WTC.exe" is opened, the virus deletes all
the 
files on the computer's hard drive and sends copies of the e-mail to
every 
address listed in the computer's address book, he said. 

The virus also defaces any Web pages that are hosted by an infected
computer 
to read: "America ... few days will show you what we can do!!! It's our
turn >
>> Zaker is so sorry for you." 

The virus is believed to be the work of an opportunist and not associated

with the Sept. 11 jetliner attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon
in 
which more than 6,000 people are believed to be dead or missing. 

"There is no evidence that this is related to the people who carried out"
the 
attacks, Perry said. 

"We feel this is likely to get quite a high pickup in that a lot of
people 
are going to click on this," he said. "If the news about this doesn't get
out 
before people get their e-mails, they're at risk." 

SICK SENSE OF HUMOR 

Perry said he expects there will be more socially engineered viruses
created 
in the future that will take advantage of people's interest in the
attacks 
and the subsequent political and military repercussions. 

"What this is is a sick sense of humor," Perry said. "Chances are this is
not 
any kind of cyber-terrorism. It's just cyber terror." 

As many as 10 large corporate customers of Computer Associates have been 
infected since the virus first appeared Monday morning, Perry said. 
Researchers do not know where it originated from but it has not yet hit 
Europe and Asia, he said. 

Computer Associates is working on software that will enable its Inoculate

Anti-virus software to detect the new virus and prevent it from infecting
a 
computer, Perry said. 

16:48 09-24-01


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