Microsoft today announced that it will pay a $250,000 (U.S.) reward for information resulting in the arrest and conviction of those responsible for unleashing the MyDoom.B worm. MyDoom.B, detected yesterday, is a variant of the earlier released MyDoom.A worm, also known as the Novarg worm, which has spread quickly infecting computers around the world. The release of this B variant triggered the first alert from the newly formed Department of Homeland Security's cyber alert system yesterday.
Characteristics of the B variant of MyDoom include these:
- Infects the computers of unsuspecting consumers and automatically sends infecting e-mail to their e-mail contacts
- Blocks access to anti-virus vendor Web sites and www.microsoft.com
- Leaves a "backdoor" into infected computers, allowing any hacker to modify the existing worm without the user's knowledge
- Is designed to launch an attack against www.microsoft.com next month
"This worm is a criminal attack," said Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel at Microsoft. "Its intent is to disrupt computer users, but also to keep them from getting to anti-virus locations and other sites that could help them. Microsoft wants to help the authorities catch this criminal."
Residents of any country are eligible for the reward, according to the laws of that country, because Internet viruses affect the Internet community worldwide.
Representatives of three law enforcement agencies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U. S. Secret Service and Interpol, joined Microsoft to unveil the company's $5 million reward program in November. All three agencies have engaged Microsoft in their investigations of this most recent worm.
Individuals with information about the MyDoom worm or any other worms or viruses should contact the following international law enforcement agencies:
- International/Interpol via the Interpol National Central Bureau
- FBI or Secret Service via any local field office
- The Internet Crime Complaint Center