The ‘Worm’ That Could Bring Down The Internet: NPR

On September 27th, 2011, NPR reported on how the massive computer worm called Conficker has been spreading throughout the world.  According to writer Mark Bowden, Conficker penetrates the core of a computer's operating system and turns control of the computer over to a remote operator.  Conficker takes all of these infected computers and networks them in what is known as a botnet.  Bowden went on to say that the Conficker botnet could take over computer networks that control banking, telephones, security systems, air traffic control and even the Internet itself.

Bowden discusses how Conficker was discovered, how it works, and the ongoing battle to bring it down in his new book, Worm: The First Digital World War.  Bowden described how Conficker could launch a denial of service attack so large that it would not only overwhelm its target, but also the root servers of the Internet itself.  Bowen also noted that Pentagon officials are especially wary of Conficker because the botnet could be used as a weapon: "It's the equivalent of shutting down the train system during the Civil War, where the Union troops and the Confederate troops used trains to shuttle arms and ammunition and supplies all over their area of control.  If you could shut their trains down, you cripple their ability to function. Similarly, you could do that today by taking down the Internet."

The discovery of Conficker prompted a group of security experts to get together and stop the worm; the group called themselves the Conficker Working Group.  The Conficker Working Group has since realized that the creator of Conficker had little interest in taking down the Internet or using its bot to create mass destruction.  However, Bowden stressed caution; "at any moment, Conficker could do something really threatening.  [People fighting the bot] are trying to figure it out still. And every new day, as the worm makes its contacts, they generate long lists of computers that are infected — which still include big networks within the FBI, within the Pentagon, within large corporations."

The source article can be found here.