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Zotob Worm Exploits Lax PC Security Policies

By Dilip Thomas

The Zotob worm exploits a Microsoft security flaw for which fixes had already been issued -- but not implemented. The key to diminishing the damage from worms such as Zotob is to have a timely security discipline -- to close exposures in hours and days, not weeks and months, according to research by the Infotech Security group. The industry analysts say that the Zotob computer worm is thought to be responsible for shutting down computers on Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill, at CNN, ABC News, and other major corporations in the U.S.

The Zotob worm takes advantage of a software flaw that Microsoft revealed on August 9 and subsequently issued a patch for. The worm can affect machines running Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003.

"Anyone with a solid, timely approach to security discipline need not worry," says Info-Tech analyst Carmi Levy. "If everyone applied the latest service packs and security patches to their operating systems, this virus wouldn’t be making headlines.

"Microsoft acted quickly to make the security patch available, but hackers are becoming increasingly sophisticated," says Levy. "It no longer takes weeks to develop a virus that can take down an entire network. Enterprises need to be on their toes, aware of patches being announced by their software providers on a daily basis and applying them as quickly as possible."

"This can be especially difficult for small- and mid-sized companies who may not have the resources to put toward such maintenance. However, it takes significantly fewer resources to apply a patch than to rebuild a system after it’s been attacked."

Info-Tech urges all enterprises running Windows 2003, 2000 and XP to apply the patch available at microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS05-039.mspx.


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