Slammer a harbinger of new breed of malware

While the Slammer worm hit the Internet like a runaway freight train, it was nowhere near the costliest malicious software attack so far. But it is a harbinger of nastier things to come for those who stick with old-style approaches to network security, experts warn. “Throughout history, crime has always followed money,” said Simon Perry, vice-president of security solutions for software developer Computer Associates International. “Now that the world generates increasingly significant value from IT related activities, it should be obvious that someone, somewhere, will attack this infrastructure for any number of reasons. The oft-quoted Sun Tzu advised that one should always assume that one’s enemy will prepare to wage war, and will actually attack. If a company is surprised, then they’re not thinking through risk mitigation correctly.” Full Story