There are several items of note this month. The publication of the first MSH viruses is only of passing interest: there is a new programming environment so there is the possibility of viruses targeting that environment, the news that it has been done only confirms the expected.
The small outbreak of a mobile virus at a major sports event is of more interest. Viruses on mobile phones and other such devices have been a possibility for years, but the outbreak shows the number of such devices is reaching the “critical mass” where epidemics can occur. We can expect more outbreaks, and more serious outbreaks in future. If your organisation relies on mobile communications contact us to discuss protection strategies.
The exploit of MS05-039 and the associated outbreaks is further evidence that the “time to exploit” was a myth. Could the bad guys have reverse-engineered the patch, developed an exploit and packaged it in a worm or backdoor in just a couple of days, or were at least some of them already aware of and using the exploit (in a low-profile manner, so as not to be noticed), and therefore ready to release a mass attack when the patch was published? Whatever the case, as defenders our assumption should be that the attackers already know all the vulnerabilities, and we must rely on defence in depth to make things difficult for them.