Worm outbreak downs Chicago highway department network for two weeks

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://news.techworld.com/security/3461099/worm-outbreak-downs-chicago-highway-department-network-for-two-weeks/

By John E Dunn
Techworld
28 July 2013

A malware outbreak that downed the entire network of the highways agency 
serving the city of Chicago for two weeks last month was probably caused 
by a single employee or infected USB stick, a local TV station has 
reported.

The June “virus” attack eventually affected 200 PCs, disrupting the 
network for Cook County Department of Highway and Transportation, one of 
the US’s largest urban counties comprising 130 Chicago municipalities and 
over 5 million people.

As the malware rapidly spread through its downtown HQ, the agency's IT 
team was forced to pull the plug for nine working days, temporarily 
sending the workforce hack to calculators, fax machines, pens and paper 
before a neighbouring County took pity and lent them some clean PCs.

The cause of the outbreak has not been identified but officials reportedly 
said they were working on the theory that an external USB drive was to 
blame. Such drives were not currently blocked.

[...]

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