Mikko Hypponen
Mikko Hypponen
Mikko Hermanni Hyppönenis a computer security expert and columnist...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
CountryUnited States of America
attacks aware moment
At the moment we are not aware of any attacks that would have used this vulnerability.
attacks coming continent local majority online quite vast
The vast majority of the online crime cases, we don't even know which continent the attacks are coming from. And even if we are able to find online criminals, quite often there is no outcome. The local police don't act, or if they do, there's not enough evidence, or for some reason we can't take them down.
against attacks avoid banking created great products protect targeted truth
The truth is, consumer-grade antivirus products can't protect against targeted malware created by well-resourced nation-states with bulging budgets. They can protect you against run-of-the-mill malware: banking trojans, keystroke loggers and e-mail worms. But targeted attacks like these go to great lengths to avoid antivirus products on purpose.
argue atom attack bomb computer nuclear offensive scientists time using
Nuclear scientists lost their innocence when we used the atom bomb for the very first time. So we could argue computer scientists lost their innocence in 2009 when we started using malware as an offensive attack weapon.
attacks buddy click dozens exploits files image messenger people seen send several since spam tries users using worm
We have seen dozens of different attacks using this vulnerability since Dec. 27. One exploits image files and tries to get users to click on them; another is an MSN Messenger worm that will send the worm to people on your buddy list, and we have seen several spam attacks.
attack everybody hoping looks major patch succeeding
Everybody was hoping they would get the patch out before a major attack would start. Now it looks like they are succeeding in doing just that. Well done.
attack computer hours online sleeping target
There is no need to have your computer online 24 hours (a day) as a target of an attack when you are sleeping or away from your computer.
actively attack block everybody involved knows later lay likely low malicious might rather virus writer
There might be no attack at all. As everybody knows about the attack, the virus writer may lay low and attack at a later date. The ISPs involved can actively block malicious postings. It's more likely the attacker will lay low or be blocked, rather than succeed.
attacks causing false improve percent possible strike systems time
Antivirus systems need to strike a balance between detecting all possible attacks without causing any false alarms. And while we try to improve on this all the time, there will never be a solution that is 100 percent perfect.
viruses worked year
I've worked with viruses for 15 years and things have been getting progressively worse. This year is going to be bad.
awhile figure home people reported
These will only get reported when people get home from work, and it will take awhile before they figure out who to call.
bad brand buy computer five infected internet plug situation ten turn within worm
The situation on the Internet right now is so bad that if you go and buy a brand new computer and turn it on and plug it into the Internet, it will be infected by a worm within five to ten minutes,
beyond corporate finds quite spread worm
The worm can spread quite well once it finds its way beyond corporate firewalls.
bigger computers estimate percent potential problems situation vulnerable worldwide
Right now, the situation is bad, but it could be much worse. The potential for problems is bigger than we have ever seen. We estimate 99 percent of computers worldwide are vulnerable to this attack.