Paul Mullen wrote:
>
> >[ The Security Professional | Lawrence D. Dietz ]
> >----- First-Ever NT Server Virus Calls for Extra Vigilance -----
> >This kind of hacker software can probably change algorithms as quickly as
> >any user organization--so you ought to be prepared for the worst.
> >
> >http://www.iw.com/print/current/infrastructure/19990111-firstever.html
>
> The article begins:
>
> >For too long the end user community has assumed that most virus activity
> >would reside in the Unix world. But the debut on Nov. 19, 1998, of a virus
> >called Remote Explorer--the first known virus to attack Windows NT
> >servers--should make every user take notice.
> >
> >NT is the operating system of choice for most Internet servers. It is also
> >the touchstone for desktops and laptops reaching out over the Internet.
> >Yet Microsoft has neither built nor certified the NT operating system as a
> >hardened, secure product. In fact, many Internet-facilitated break-ins
> >occur because NT systems are not configured or managed properly.
>
> I guess I'm in need of a little education here. I thought UNIX (and its
> variants) was the OS of choice for Internet servers. And viruses being a
> predominantly UNIX phenomenon?
>
The "story" is somewhat mis-leading. The virus does not exploit any
security vulnerabilities in the Windows NT operating system. For the
virus to infect, it must be introduced to a Win NT server/workstation by
a user with Admin privileges. This virus was inserted by someone with
Administrator privileges.
Virus is memory resident. As part of its mode of operation, it will
install itself as a Service, compress EXE files, randomly encrypt TXT
and HTML files, and will attempt to infect other systems on the network
by using the captured Administrator's privileges. It is more of a
wake-up call to what could happen.
The latest virus count from Norton includes 21,076 know viruses for the
the DOS/WIN platform. This includes a rather extensive list of
Word-Macro viruses that only occur with the MS office product line
(Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access). The list of know viruses has been
expanding by roughly 200 per month for the past couple of years.
After remaining steady for a number of years, the virus count for the
Macintosh has finally broken the 50 count. Thanks in part to porting MS
Office to Mac and some of the Word-Macro virus do impact the Mac.
I don't recall the number of viruses (including trojan and worm) for the
Unix platform; however, I seem to recall a number less than 10.
--
John Stewart
SUPSHIP San Diego
Information Systems Security Mgr
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