Conficker was a nasty piece of malware that first emerged on the scene in November 2008. By April 1, 2009, many security experts and computer users were bracing themselves for the worst: a predicted “menacing” new phase as machines infected with the Conficker.D variant were expected to contact their botnet control servers en masse for new instructions.
That sounds terrifying—and it would have been, had it happened. But let’s look at how the coverage evolved and what we can learn from it.
- In the days leading up to April 1, 2009, Wired and other outlets (as documented by Snopes) wrote admittedly clickbait stories about the potential for a Conficker cyber-apocalypse.
- Those system administrators who had been following Microsoft’s Conficker working group, however, could sleep a bit better. Microsoft has been working on solutions and had this to say on March 27, 2009: “While any malware attack is cause for concern, customers who continue to follow the guidance we’ve always given, such as: apply security updates, update security software signatures and clean infected systems, should look at the latest version of Conficker like other malware attacks: a manageable cause for concern.”
- When April 1 came and went without Conficker chaos, some of the media declared the situation to be a “bust.”
- Again, though, Microsoft took a more measured approach: “This means that even though it hasn’t happened today, a new variant or a new attack could be levied in the future.”
The advice of the Conficker working group remains sound nearly 20 years later: Keep your system and security software updated, and clean any systems identified as infected.
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Photo: Alexandr Iakimov / Shutterstock
