Cyberworms are infecting more thumb drives

Federal Drive

Cyberworms are infecting more thumb drives

DARPA sets out to eliminate internal cyber threats

Federal News Network Staff

August 27, 2010 8:30 am

1 min read

Cybersecurity Update – Tune in weekdays at 30 minutes past the hour for the latest cybersecurity news on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Amy Morris (6-10 a.m.) and the DorobekINSIDER with Chris Dorobek (3-7 p.m.). Computerworld is reporting that one out of every four worms are spread through infected USB devices. PandaLabs computer security company says that 25 percent of all new worms are specifically designed to spread through those little thumb drives. They say that the worm will automatically copy itself to the portable device when you plug the thumb drive into your computer. It isn’t just thumb drives. Smartphones, cameras and mp3 players are also at risk.

DARPA has a new goal: reduce cyber insider threats to ashes. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced the new Cinder project to “greatly increase” the speed of sniffing out and stopping actions on military networks that could indicate someone is trying to copy classified files. According to DARPA, what sets the insider threat apart from other kinds of cyberattacks from outside the system is the use of “normal tactics” to accomplish abnormal and malicious missions.

Check out all of Federal News Radio’s coverage of cybersecurity issues here.