Mydoom-B Author Beware! Microsoft Is After You, Sophos Comments
Microsoft has announced that it is offering a USD 250,000 bounty for the capture of the author of MyDoom-B (W32/MyDoom-B). The software giant says that it will pay the reward for information leading to the arrest and successful conviction of those behind the worm, which attempts to launch a denial of service attack against Microsoft’s website.
The reward follows a similar USD 250,000 offer from the SCO Group – its website is targeted with a similar attack by MyDoom-B and its widely encountered predecessor, MyDoom-A.
Interestingly, the MyDoom-B worm contains a potential clue. Hidden inside the worm is a line of text which is not displayed by the worm. It reads:
(sync-1.01; andy; I’m just doing my job, nothing personal, sorry)
“Is this a clue which might lead to MyDoom-B’s author? It’s very hard to say. It’s possible that it has been deliberately left there by the worm’s author as a red herring. Certainly it’s a lead which needs to be further investigated by the authorities,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant, Sophos. “This is not the first time Microsoft has offered a significant cash sum for the head of virus writer. Last year it issued bounties for the capture of the authors of the Sobig-F and Blaster worms, and announced it was making a USD 5 million fund available for rewarding people who inform against, and assist in the conviction of, virus writers.”
“The people who create and distribute viruses make the internet worse for everybody who uses it. If anyone has information about those who are behind attacks on the net they should search their conscience and report it to the authorities,” continued Cluley.
Individuals with information about the people behind any worm or virus should contact the appropriate computer crime authority in their country. In any of Interpol’s 181 member countries, people with information about virus writers can contact their Interpol National Central Bureau or Interpol’s international website.
In the past virus writers such as David L Smith, Simon Vallor and Christopher Pile have been sentenced to prison for their activities.