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| Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=sto...56&sid=96479370
With the holidays upon us, the name of Santa Claus is being used for evil
rather than good by worm developers, who have targeted major
instant-messaging systems with a holiday-themed virus.
The IM.GiftCom.All worm has made an appearance on several messaging
networks, including America Online, Microsoft MSN, and Yahoo.
The worm attempts to dupe you into believing that a friend has sent you a
link to a harmless file. If you click on the file, you see an image of
Santa. While viewing it, the worm attempts to install a rootkit on your
system.
Rootkits are frequently used to circumvent security software and give an
attacker remote control of a machine. Once the attacker is inside your
system, the worm harvests your instant-message contact lists for subsequent
infections.
Not Surprising
The new worm is not surprising to many security researchers because
holiday-themed threats often occur just as people are swapping online cards
and forwarding holiday messages to each other.
The fact that the threat appears in instant-messaging systems also does not
come as a shock, considering the phenomenal growth rate in the number of
innovative new worms and viruses over the past year.
Since the start of 2005, messaging-related security threats have been
growing each month, according to messaging-security firm IMLogic.
Track Down
"The difficulty is that worm developers are using tactics that have been
successful in e-mail campaigns," said IMLogic chief technology officer Jon
Sakoda. "They're able to mutate earlier worms and try different strategies,
and that's giving them a level of sophistication."
Another problem is that users still are not fully aware that worms and
viruses can move through messaging systems, Sakoda added.
In corporate environments, threats like the recent Santa Claus worm can be
especially nasty because some employees use instant-messaging applications
on the sly, without the knowledge of the I.T. staff.
"CIOs should definitely know what's on their network, and what users are
doing," said Sakoda. "If they think employees aren't using instant messaging
just because it's not allowed, then they better think again."
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