CSULB
computer networks attacked by three viruses
Technology:
Recent computer infections caused disruption
and faulty internet access for students
and faculty.
By
Sean Orfila and Jack Schneider
On-line Forty-Niner
Students
and faculty were unable to access the Internet
last week when Blaster, Welchia and SoBIG
computer worms, three malicious strings
of computer codes, crippled hundreds of
thousands of computers worldwide, infecting
up to 100 computers at Cal State Long Beach.
The
Department of Homeland Security issued a
warning that the worms imbedded themselves
in hundreds of private networks and halted
traffic on major servers such as the Navy-Marine
Corps Intranet office.
The
coded worms aggravated students who could
not update their schedules or browse the
Internet during the first week of classes.
The school's my.csulb Web site was shut
down on Tuesday when the worms continued
to bog down Internet traffic.
Information-systems
technicians located infected PCs and installed
security patches last week to destroy the
worms. Network systems manager Larry Himmel
said Thursday that he and his staff had
reduced the number of infected computers
down to 10.
Dan
Olsen, information desk manager said some
of the complaints received were regarding
one of CSULB's major Internet resources.
"Students
have been saying 'I want my Beachboard,'"
Olsen said.
Labs with computers turned off during summer
were left vulnerable to attacks from worms,
Himmel said. Microsoft released security
updates after Aug. 29. As a result, some
campus computers did not receive the updates.
Associated
Students Inc. President Danny Vivian said
computers that have recently been turned
on from the summer season have obtained
the worm viruses.
"My
understanding is that when school started,
computers that might not have been used
in the summer [were turned on] and the virus
activated itself," Vivian said.
Unlike
computer viruses, most worms do not need
human behavior to replicate, such as downloading
an e-mail attachment. Instead, worms gather
on networks and wait to infect vulnerable
computers. Computer labs and faculty PCs
that have not been updated became breeding
grounds for the worms that quickly spread
via CSULB's e-mail system.
Despite
the major problems with the worm viruses,
Vivian said it's not uncommon for university
computers to be affected.
"Colleges
are an easy target for viruses," Vivian
said. " They might not all the have
the high-tech equipment for the computers."
The
Blaster computer worm was first released
Aug. 11 and has infected an estimated 500,000
computers worldwide. A Minnesota teenager
was arrested after he admitted to creating
the worm. The FBI seized seven computers
from the home of the 18-year-old, known
online as "teekid."
The
Welchia worm, however, may have been created
to repair the damage done by Blaster. Welchia
uses the same weakness in Microsoft's operating
system as Blaster and after infecting a
computer, deletes the Blaster worm and attempts
to search for other infected computers on
a network. The servers become overloaded
because the search process uses thousands
of "pings" to locate other infected
PCs on the network that eventually slow
the entire server.
The
third worm to hinder the CSULB network,
SoBIG, infects a computer and then searches
for e-mail addresses. It then sends itself
to other e-mail accounts with an attachment.
Once that attachment is opened the process
is repeated. If the worm is released onto
a network that allows the sharing of attachments,
all the email recipients could be infected.
SoBIG is a worm that needs human action
to replicate.
Since
the first week of school, Olsen said the
calls that have been made into the technology
desk are regarding program usage.
"Things
seem to be much better," Olsen said.
"We're getting calls on how to use
the applications as opposed to problems
with the server being unavailable."
SoBIG
nuisance is a nuisance because that it can
gather and distribute personal information.
It can also send out massive amounts of
spam e-mail from an infected PC and place
files on a computer to steal confidential
information.
Microsoft
says installing a firewall and anti-virus
software is one way people can protect themselves
against computer worms. Installing security
updates from the Microsoft windows update
Web site is also recommended.
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