CA details ‘remarkably sophisticated’ Web attack
A new “remarkably sophisticated” attack that uses three pieces of malware to turn PCs into zombies that can be sold to criminal groups appeared on the Internet this week, security vendor Computer Associates International Inc. said yesterday.
A version of the Bagle worm downloader that the company has dubbed Glieder is serving as a “beachhead” to install more serious malware on computers, CA said. Demonstrating a new level of coordination between Glieder and other attacks, infected computers can have their antivirus and firewall software disabled and can be turned into remotely controlled zombies used to mount large cyberattacks, CA said.
“This is so coordinated that it’s remarkably sophisticated,” said Roger Thompson, CA’s director of malicious content research.
CA noted eight variants of Glieder released one after the other on Wednesday, “dazzling the Internet with their speed and deployment to maximize the number of compromised victims,” the company said. “The whole point is to get to as many victims as fast as possible with a lightweight piece of malware.”