Attack anniversary cyberthreats unfounded -experts

SAN FRANCISCO: Fears of a cyber attack inspired by the Sept. 11 attacks faded on Tuesday, a day ahead of the anniversary, with the only threat to emerge a year-old virus hoax called "World Trade Center Survivor." Experts predicted that Wednesday is likely to be just another day on the Internet, and if anything a quiet day for cybercriminals.

"Tomorrow, I honestly predict we will see less hacking activity than we saw yesterday," said Rob Rosenberger, editor of Vmyths, a Web site that details virus hoaxes and other computer security myths. "Al Qaeda's MO (modus operandi) is that they strike when we are having an ordinary day," Rosenberg said of the militant Islamic group blamed for last year's Sept. 11 attacks.

"If Osama was going to double-click us to death he would have done it six weeks ago. He's low-tech. He likes flying aircraft into skyscrapers," the computer expert said. While there is no evidence of any looming digital Armageddon, there remains the everyday threat from the 62,000 known viruses circulating on the Web and the 200 actively spreading viruses, according to virus tracker WildList.org.

Posing no threat to anyone was the purported "WTC Survivor" virus that first surfaced last October in an e-mail that warned that it had the destructive potential to erase data from the computer's hard disk drive. The hoax resurfaced this week. Details about it can be found at (http://www.vmyths.com).

"I have no sense at all that there will be a special cyber event" related to the attacks anniversary, said Alan Paller, research director at the System Administration, Networking and Security Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. "You would really have to stretch to get any more worried tomorrow than you were today," he said. "It's like washing your car in case it rains."

© Reuters