FBI out-smarted by SirCam bug

Men in black admit they've been had...

By Chris Holbrook, 26 July 2001 14:00

NEWS The FBI's cyber-security arm has admitted the SirCam worm infected at least one of its computers, allowing the bug to forward confidential files to outsiders. SirCam, which seizes files from the hard drive of infected systems and sends them when the worm is passed on, was released accidentally by an FBI anti-virus researcher. Although the incident is highly embarrassing for the NIPC (National Infrastructure Protection Centre) unit - used to tackle technology-based threats to the US - no sensitive information was released. The FBI has recently conducted searches in 11 US states to gather evidence as part of a national crackdown on internet-based software piracy.

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