Cisco is preparing for the April 1 attack of the Conficker worm, whether it actually happens or not. The company is readying its 24x7x365 Threat Operations Center to monitor the situation and collect and analyze metrics on the potential attack.
Cisco says Conficker.C has infected about 10 million Windows-based computers in 150 countries, with China estimated at 3 million, Brazil at 1 million and Russia at 800,000, according to a report by colleague Ellen Messmer. These are the top three Conficker infection spots, with some researchers saying the high counts in these regions are due to pirated Microsoft software that doesn’t get patched and lack of antivirus software on machines.
In the United States, about 200,000 infected computers are suspected.
Views are divided on whether it will be a significant viral event, a dud or even an April Fool’s prank. Cisco says it is taking no chances. Company analysts stand ready with tools to verify anomalies and approve automatically generated outbreak rules, a company spokesman says.
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