Leathernecksbattle worm in computers

[thedrifter]

Article ran : 08/15/2003
Leathernecksbattle worm in computers
By ERIC STEINKOPFF
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Technicians at Camp Lejeune have begun checking all 20,000 of the base's computers this week after officials discovered the W32.blaster worm that shut down systems worldwide this week had dug its way into some of the machines.

As reports funneled in that computers were locking up and some printers refused to work, teams of Marine computer technicians, who normally work in obscurity, suddenly became the most important people in each command.

"The base normally takes a defensive posture, but now we are in the offense," said Anthony Gillespie, base director of the information systems management division.

Gillespie said he could not reveal how many machines were affected, but his team of 36 technicians worked 12 to 15 hours a day to treat each computer with a personal house call.

"We have physically patched and verified all the workstations in the region," Gillespie said. "We have verified all 20,000 unclassified machines."

Although some individual computer users may have had problems, officials said integrity of the servers was maintained.

"We had some machines infected and we took care of those, but that does not affect service on our network," Gillespie said. "It didn't' slow down our network at all."

Unlike a virus, a worm sneaks into a computer without user intervention, such as opening an e-mail attachment, The Associated Press reported. It arrives via the Internet and spreads by seeking out other vulnerable machines connected to the Internet or to a local network.

The worm overloads the computer so that the machine accepts instructions from only one place, thereby paying attention only to what the virus is doing, Gillespie said.

"The virus propagates on the Internet via e-mail," Gillespie said. "We really don't yet know how this one came in, because we've been too busy putting out fires."

There are a number of ways for the virus to gain access through security firewalls, e-mail attachments and computer disks used on home personal computers that people take back and forth to work.

Investigators later will review records again to see if they can determine where the virus originated.

Gillespie said the virus was first identified Tuesday afternoon. By Thursday evening it no longer was a threat to the base.

"We have eliminated the virus here," Gillespie said.

Contact Eric Steinkopff at esteinkopff@jdnews.com or 353-1171, Ext. 236.



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Sempers,

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