IBM hands out malware-stuffed USB at security conference

IBM has apologised after supplying a malware-infected USB stick to delegates of this week's IBM AusCERT security conference.

The unlovely gift was supplied to an unknown number of delegates to the Gold Coast, Queensland conference who visited IBM's booth. Big Blue does not identify the strain of malware involved in the attack beyond saying it's a type of virus widely detected for at least two years which takes advantage of Windows autorun to spread, as a copy of IBM's email apology published by the Beast Or Buddha blog explains.

At the AusCERT conference this week, you may have collected a complimentary USB key from the IBM booth. Unfortunately we have discovered that some of these USB keys contained malware and we suspect that all USB keys may be affected.

The malware is detected by the majority of current Anti Virus products [as at 20/05/2010] and been known since 2008.

The malware is known by a number of names and is contained in the setup.exe and autorun.ini files.  It is spread when the infected USB device is inserted into a Microsoft Windows workstation or server whereby the setup.exe and autorun.ini files run automatically.

Please do not use the USB key, and we ask that you return it to IBM at Reply Paid 120, PO Box 400, West Pennant Hills 2120.

Problems of this type occur when any one of the PCs involved in loading content onto a USB stick is itself infected with malware. This could have happened either at IBM itself or its suppliers.

Malware-infected USB incidents have cropped up at AusCERT before. Australian telco Telstra distributed malware-infected USB drives at AusCERT 2008, Secure Computing reports. ®