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Trojans top virus list
29/11/2001 13:35 - (SA)
Lucas van Grinsven
London - Viruses that hand over control of a computer to a hacker have dominated the internet in the past year and will become even more pervasive in coming years, computer security executives say.
So-called Trojan horse computer viruses enter a personal computer through an innocuous email or other means, giving control to a remote person, who can then track keyboard entries and credit card numbers.
"There's huge growth in Trojan horses," said Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos Anti-Virus.
So far this year, over one-quarter of all computer viruses spotted by computer departments of Sophos customers have been Trojan horses. This makes them the leading virus of 2001.
Trojans, such as Code Red II and the Badtrans virus that broke out over the weekend, were hardly noticed previously.
The first high-profile use of a Trojan was when one broke into the network of US software giant Microsoft late last year, giving hackers access to vital software. Microsoft said the virus was spotted before it could do any harm.
Even so, the prospects for Trojans look bright.
"They infiltrate the system and hide," George Samenuk, Chief Executive of Network Associates told Reuters. "The ability to detect is more difficult. You also have to clean up the system, which is tough," he added.
Another factor playing into the hands of Trojans is that households are subscribing to fast internet access over cable TV networks or supercharged phone wires. Because these connections are "always on", the "gates" to the family PC are always open for people who have stolen passwords by using a Trojan.
Individuals seldom use firewalls and virus sniffers to protect themselves against break-ins, Cluley said.
Retail sales of anti-virus software are still a drop in the ocean of internet-connected PC users. McAfee.com, a unit of Network Associates, is among the successful companies in this segment by signing up 1.2 million subscribers in two years.
It may seem an impressive number, but not if taken into account that 62.8 million households in the US are on line.
Sophisticated viruses
In general, viruses are becoming more sophisticated and deadly, Samenuk said.
Computer experts agree that the Nimda virus, an executable "worm" that broke out on 18 September and caused over $500 million of damages worldwide, was written by a highly skilled programmer who used a full bag of tricks. An individual could get his PC infected by just browsing over an infected website.
The fact that serious programmers get involved in writing viruses makes detection more difficult.
Another first for Trojans is that they bring together the two, previously separated, worlds of virus writers and hackers, Cluley said.
Hackers who attempt to break into computer systems are traditionally more skilled than virus writers. They look down on virus writers, who often rely on illegal software packages to "point and click" together a new virus.
This year viruses will cause record damages to computer systems, but next year will be even worse, according to a recent report from IT consultants at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The global anti-virus software market is forecast to increase to $2.7 billion in 2004 from $1.2 billion in 1999, according to market research company IDC.
In the wake of this year's virus outbreaks and the US attacks on 11 September, IT managers of large companies plan to grow their security budgets by 43 percent next year, while their overall budgets remain flat.
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