According to the report published this week, the Conficker Working Group said it was able to block Conficker’s creator, whose identity remains unknown, from benefiting from the worm. “Nearly every person interviewed for this report said this aspect of the effort has been successful. The blocking of domains continues and the Working Group has indicated they will maintain this effort”, the report said.
Frist appearing in 2008, the Conficker worm disables a computer's security measures, including Windows software updates and anti-virus protection, leaving machines vulnerable to more malicious software.
The Conficker Working Group was set up by two dozen IT and information security companies, as well as universities and institutes, to combat the Conficker worm. The Department of Homeland Security provided funding for the group to publish a Lessons Learned document summarizing their efforts.
While the Conficker Working Group thwarted the creator’s efforts, it was not able to disinfect the millions of infected computers. "The operation was a complete success, but the patient died", Rodney Joffe, chairman of the Working Group, was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying. "It is a really sophisticated weapons system", he added.
The report warned that “the threats in cyberspace are growing in size, scope and sophistication.” It noted that other industry/university groups have formed to combat other malware. “The researchers in the private sector and academia are working hard every day to prevent potential attacks”, the report concluded.