New virus targets USB memory sticks
Posted 15 May 2007 at 9:56AM by Simon Dickson in Internet security
Does your office IT policy say anything about USB memory sticks? I've worked in a number of large organisations which made it a disciplinary offence to plug one into an office computer - but I (and most of my colleagues) did so on a daily basis, because we simply had to.
There isn't much these days which fits on a floppy disk - if anyone still uses those? - and systems administrators don't really like it when you email files with multi-megabyte attachments around your network. USB storage is surely the most efficient and cost-effective way to move large amounts of data from A to B: you can pick up a 1GB stick for about £6 these days, cheap enough for you to buy out of your own pocket, and never worry about claiming back on expenses.
Many leading open-source programs have been tweaked to optimise them for use from a USB stick: PortableApps.com has a complete (free) software suite, including web browser, instant messaging client, email client, word processor, spreadsheet, PDF viewer and even virus protection. You can even run an entire operating system from USB memory, by-passing the main hard disk and 'borrowing' the host machine's keyboard, mouse and monitor - see Wikipedia for details.
But there's a threat on the horizon. Security experts Sophos recently issued a warning about a new virus which infects removable drives (such as USB sticks) with a file which runs each time the drive is plugged in. It's actually a very crude trick: most commercial CD-ROMs contain a file called 'autorun.inf' which makes the software run as soon as you insert the disk, and this virus uses the same method.
Its only consequence appears to be a message - 'hacked by 1BYTE'; but having proven the concept, Graham Cluley from Sophos warns: 'A more savvy internet criminal would have not made it so obvious that the PC has been broken into, but silently steal from the PC without leaving such an obvious clue.'
This shouldn't have to mean issuing an outright ban on removable storage: it may be enough to disable your PC's 'autorun' functionality. Annoyances.org lists a range of ways to do this; but be warned, by switching this off, you will have to run any CDs (etc) manually, each time you insert them.
Tags: flash memory, portableapps, sophos, usb, virus
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