Worm: The First Digital World War

When the Conficker computer worm was unleashed on the world in November 2008, cybersecurity experts did not know what to make of it.  The worm, exploiting the security flaws in Microsoft Windows, grew at an astonishingly rapid rate, infecting millions of computers around the world within weeks.  Once the worm infiltrated one system it was able to link that system with others to form a single network under illicit outside control - a situation known as a "botnet."  This botnet was soon capable of overpowering any of the vital computer networks that today control banking, telephone service, energy flow, air traffic, health-care information - even the Internet itself.  Was it a platform for criminal profit, or a weapon?  Security experts do not know for sure what Conflicker's purpose is, or even where it came from.

We are pleased to welcome back John Markoff to moderate a conversation about the Conficker worm with author Mark Bowden and T. J. Camapana, Senior Program Manager for Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit.