Security news
Security news20 March 2001
Computer users have little to fear from Injustice worm
Sophos, a world leader in corporate anti-virus protection, has advised computer users that there is no need to panic following reports of the latest email-aware computer worm. So far Sophos has received just a single report of the worm in the wild, but - as it is self-replicating and has the potential to spread quickly - users are advised to be cautious of suspicious looking emails and to ensure they have up-to-date anti-virus protection.
The Injustice worm (also known as VBS/Staple-A), sees virus writing activities turn away from the sex appeal of Anna Kournikova to the battlefield of international politics. When activated the worm (which carries the subject line 'RE:Injustice') opens a number of pro-Palestinian websites and displays a message box entitled 'HELP US TO STOP THE BLOOD SHED!!', before describing the alleged murder of a 12 year-old Palestinian child at the hands of Israeli soldiers. In addition, the worm automatically sends itself to the first 50 contacts in the user's Outlook address book as well to 25 Israeli-based email addresses.
"I guess you could call this information warfare," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos Anti-Virus. "Viruses containing political messages are nothing new, but here we see a virus which attempts to bombard email addresses in Israel. If this virus becomes widespread the barrage of email may become more than a nuisance."
