Daily Mail Today
A computer virus that may leave Windows users vulnerable to digital hijacking is spreading through companies across the world.
It has already infected close to nine million machines, according to an online security company.
Finland-based firm F-Secure said the ‘worm’ has surged more rapidly through corporate networks than anything they have seen in years.
computer
The programme spreads through low security networks, memory sticks and PCs without the latest security updates.
F-Secure's chief security adviser, Patrik Runald, said the virus's coding suggests a type of bug that alerts computer users to bogus infections on their machines and offers to help by selling them anti-virus software.
At the moment the virus is simply spreading to little effect, though it may still pose a threat to infected computers.
'The gang behind this worm haven't used it yet,' F-Secure's chief research officer, Nikko Hypponen said.
'But they could do anything they like with any of these machines at any time.'
Microsoft issued a security update to deal with the virus. 'Over the last couple of weeks, a new variant of this worm has been affecting customers,' the company acknowledged in a blog post.
Microsoft said the virus is spreading by gaining access to one computer and then guessing at passwords of other users in the same network: 'If the password is weak, it may succeed.'
A company representative couldn't immediately be reached to comment on F-Secure's estimate of infected machines.
Most computers with Windows will automatically download Microsoft's security update, but Hypponen said the virus disables updates on infected machines.
While the origin of the virus is a mystery, F-Secure's best guess is it came from Ukraine.
Hypponen said it is coded to avoid computers there, which may indicate whoever wrote the virus was trying to avoid drawing attention from local authorities.
