jodav
VIP Member
A customer in Shenzhen, China, took a new laptop out of its box and booted it up for the first time. But as the screen lit up, the computer began taking on a life of its own. The machine, triggered by a virus hidden in its hard drive, began searching across the Internet for anothercomputer.
The laptop, supposedly in pristine, super-fast, direct-from-the-factory condition, had instantly become part of an illegal, global network capable of attacking websites, looting bank accounts and stealing personal data.
The shopper in this case was part of a team of Microsoft researchers in China investigating the sale of counterfeit software. They received a sudden introduction to malware called Nitol. The incident was revealed in court documents unsealed Thursday in a federal court in Virginia. The records describe a new front in a legal campaign against cybercrime being waged by the maker of the Windows operating system, which is the biggest target for viruses.
What emerges most vividly from the court records and interviews with Microsoft officials is a disturbing picture of how vulnerable Internet users have become, in part because of weaknesses in computer supply chains. To increase their profit margins, less reputable computer manufacturers and retailers may use counterfeit copies of popular software products to build machines more cheaply. Plugging the holes is nearly impossible, especially in less regulated markets such as China, and that leaves openings for cybercriminals.
They found forged versions of Windows on all the machines and malware already installed on four. The one with Nitol, however, was the most alarming because the malware was active.
"As soon as we powered on this particular computer, of its own accord without any instruction from us, it began reaching out across the Internet, attempting to contact a computer unfamiliar to us," Stratton said in the document filed with the court.
The full article for anyone interested can be found here
jodav :)
The laptop, supposedly in pristine, super-fast, direct-from-the-factory condition, had instantly become part of an illegal, global network capable of attacking websites, looting bank accounts and stealing personal data.
The shopper in this case was part of a team of Microsoft researchers in China investigating the sale of counterfeit software. They received a sudden introduction to malware called Nitol. The incident was revealed in court documents unsealed Thursday in a federal court in Virginia. The records describe a new front in a legal campaign against cybercrime being waged by the maker of the Windows operating system, which is the biggest target for viruses.
What emerges most vividly from the court records and interviews with Microsoft officials is a disturbing picture of how vulnerable Internet users have become, in part because of weaknesses in computer supply chains. To increase their profit margins, less reputable computer manufacturers and retailers may use counterfeit copies of popular software products to build machines more cheaply. Plugging the holes is nearly impossible, especially in less regulated markets such as China, and that leaves openings for cybercriminals.
They found forged versions of Windows on all the machines and malware already installed on four. The one with Nitol, however, was the most alarming because the malware was active.
"As soon as we powered on this particular computer, of its own accord without any instruction from us, it began reaching out across the Internet, attempting to contact a computer unfamiliar to us," Stratton said in the document filed with the court.
The full article for anyone interested can be found here
Code:
http://tinyurl.com/97ou42pjodav :)