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Vendors of antivirus software are scrambling to update their products to cope with the Satan Bug, an encrypted, polymorphic virus that is attacking government computer systems.
The subject of a recent alert from the Department of Energy's (DOE) virus watch group, called Computer Incident Advisory Capability (CIAC), Satan Bug is described as particularly difficult to battle because it is encrypted. Satan Bug can render files inoperable, change file dates and shut users out of local-area networks by damaging LAN interface drivers.
The CIAC advisory said Satan Bug has been located at multiple sites, and sources at the DOE said several divisions are trying to battle it with virus detection software.
CIAC, one of the agency members of the governmentwide Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, issues advisory bulletins when significant virus problems are reported to the DOE.
The CIAC bulletin noted that encrypted viruses like the Satan...