PatchLink Immediately Available to Comment on New Worm Attacking Businesses Such as CNN
Since late last week, concern has risen about the emergence of the new worm "Zotob." Some drew a comparison between Zotob and Sasser, since both are based on exploit code devised and distributed by the "houseofdabus" hacking group. According to news reports this afternoon, businesses such as CNN and Caterpillar Co. fell victim to a virus suspected to be connected with Zotob. According to PatchLink Vice President of Product Management Chris Andrew, any worm exploit carries the potential to develop into numerous variants -- some benign and some potentially damaging. Andrew noted, "These recent attacks underscore the need to ensure that patches and critical security updates are installed throughout the corporate network across platforms in a timely fashion -- not just in the server room. As many experienced with Slammer and Blaster, a virulent exploit can spread worldwide in less than an hour. To this end, it is important to patch when a vendor releases security updates rather than wait for the exploits to corrupt their systems as we have witnessed this afternoon." PatchLink cautions IT professionals to always implement a best practices approach for distributing patches. A wait-and-see approach leaves a network open to attack and also increases the chance of human error. With some planning in conjunction with automated IT security software solutions for patch, vulnerability and compliancy management, critical security updates can be easily tested and deployed long before a virulent worm like Zotob attacks. Andrew added, "It is also very important to remember that worm and virus attacks can happen on any operating system. As such, it is important for IT professionals to consider all of their systems within their enterprise. Computers and devices that regularly roam from the outside to the inside of the corporate network should be of particular concern -- whether they be mobile laptops, VPN-connected telecommuter desktops, or smart phones."
Reproduced from an article published by Business Wire
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