Delegates at last week's AusCERT security conference found out that the USB drives distributed to them by IBM Australia contained malware, reportsThe Age.
IBM, chagrined, apologized and sent a letter to delegates about the problem and how to remove the malware (posted here on the Beast or Buddha web site).
Regular delegates to the conference must be getting used to this. Two years ago, the Australian communications company Telstra did the same thing.
IBM said that most virus software will detect the malware. It didn't explain why it didn't, however.
Robert N. Charette is a Contributing Editor to IEEE Spectrum and an acknowledged international authority on information technology and systems risk management. A self-described “risk ecologist,” he is interested in the intersections of business, political, technological, and societal risks. Charette is an award-winning author of multiple books and numerous articles on the subjects of risk management, project and program management, innovation, and entrepreneurship. A Life Senior Member of the IEEE, Charette was a recipient of the IEEE Computer Society’s Golden Core Award in 2008.
