Worms Turn on Military Networks

The alleged weak security measures in Microsoft products and the company’s near-monopoly over key software markets drew the ire of a group of security professionals, who in September released a Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) report entitled “CyberInsecurity: The Cost of Monopoly.â€

“Microsoft has very usable, functional software, which is why their software is so widely adopted worldwide,†said Ken Dunham, malicious code intelligence manager for iDefense, a cyber security firm based in Reston, VA. “This has led to a dangerous situation: a large body of computers all using the same types of software, vulnerable to the same types of attacks, all connected to one another through the Internet.â€

Dunham predicted that military networks would see more of this problem as they move to standardize on Microsoft products. The infection of the NMCI demonstrates the situation, he contended.