'MALWARE' INFILTRATES STATE COMPUTER.Byline: KATE NASH  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism.
FBI, forensics See computer forensics. firm investigating intrusion By Kate Nash The New Mexican New Mexico Abbr. NM or N.M. or N.Mex. A state of the southwest United States on the Mexican border. It was admitted as the 47th state in 1912. The FBI is helping investigate the release of "malware (MALicious softWARE) Software designed to destroy, aggravate and otherwise make life unhappy. See crimeware, virus, worm, logic bomb, macro virus and Trojan. " onto a state employee's desktop computer and a Department of Health server, a state spokeswoman said. Department of Information Technology spokeswoman Deborah Martinez said Thursday that she didn't know what kind of link an employee "unknowingly" clicked while at work, or whether the link was on a Web site or in an e-mail. Malware, short for malicious software, is software that tries to infiltrate infiltrate /in·fil·trate/ (in-fil´trat) 1. to penetrate the interstices of a tissue or substance. 2. the material or solution so deposited. in·fil·trate v. 1. a computer for information. "We have no evidence that any client or personal information has been compromised," Martinez said. "Activity was confined con·fine v. con·fined, con·fin·ing, con·fines v.tr. 1. To keep within bounds; restrict: Please confine your remarks to the issues at hand. See Synonyms at limit. to the (Department of Health) network, and did not affect any other state agencies," she said. But she also said the state is paying a forensics firm $29,000 to "determine the extent of the intrusion." Martinez said she couldn't say what kind of information on the employee's computer might have been of interest to the originators of the malware. The affected server has been quarantined quar·an·tine n. 1. a. A period of time during which a vehicle, person, or material suspected of carrying a contagious disease is detained at a port of entry under enforced isolation to prevent disease from entering a country. , and its address has been blocked from transmitting information to or from the state network, she said. "I can't say a lot because we don't want the folks who are attempting to get the stuff to get clues as to how they could get around security," she said. "We hope people will just be very vigilant when they are surfing, when it looks like a legitimate site." She said she didn't know if there is a criminal investigation into the situation at this point. A source familiar with the situation said "many important logins and passwords were compromised" in the incident, but Martinez said, "To my knowledge, there wasn't." Martinez said the department, which provides information technology support to state government agencies, is routinely able to thwart hacking See hack and hacker. attempts. "Every day we get attempts, but we are able to block them out." The contract with the forensics firm is for however long it takes to fix the problem, she added. In cases where the FBI assists another government agency, it defers to that agency's spokesperson, an FBI representative said. Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com. |
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