Conficker.E attacks 700 University of Utah PCs

Hospitals that run 24x7 have difficulties in finding time to reboot. Still, 700 is too many with the patch being out now for 6 months and the past awareness. This worm is very stealth and well written. The university seemed to contain and clean it up fairly well based on the account.

Conficker.E Attacks 700 University of Utah PCs
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Conficker-Attacks-700-University-of-Utah-PCs-835179/

The dreaded Conficker worm made an appearance at the University of Utah heading into the weekend, attaching more than 700 computers and spreading its malware to the university’s three hospitals.

A spokesperson for the university insisted that patient records remain unaffected. According to a report by the Associated Press, campus IT cut off online access for up to 6 hours on April 10, in a bid to isolate Conficker before it could cause further damage.

Conficker was first detected on campus on Thursday, April 9. In addition to infecting hospital computers, Conficker also infiltrated systems in the medical school and the colleges of nursing, pharmacy and health.

Administrators had informed staff and students on the best practices for scrubbing Conficker from computers and auxiliary devices such as smartphones.