Original story

EU Genetech Monitoring Bureau - internal memo 5.11.2011

EU bugging virus scandal forces limits on telephony - confidential calls to be routed through separate secure network

Notice to all personnel:

As a result of the phone-bugging viruses discovered in several EU offices and departments last week, restrictions are to be placed on telephone behaviour within the GMB. Henceforth with immediate effect, all confidential calls must be routed through the secure administrative network.

Virus sightings have come from an increasing number of departments in the last six months. The so-called chain-letter viruses are capable of implanting themselves on all terminals that are to industrial standards DIN 6007 and upwards. They are capable of attaching themselves in dormant form on system speech-recognition units for later activation, and can evade detection by all conventional anti-virus sweeps, even including recent versions of VirusDel C.

The virus that infected offices last week is apparently a professional variant of the hoax virus that caused widespread confusion last year by adding its own often irrelevant or obscene comments to telephone conversations over infected lines. The latest version sends e-mail to thus-far untraceable addresses.

According to the Union’s Data Protection Agency the virus is extremely hard to combat, as it is of the “shapeshifter” or “chameleon” variety, and is able to alter its ID and converse with any other viruses present in the network. When the virus encounters an anti-virus shield, it automatically removes itself from the machine it has entered. At the same time, it requests some other virus present nearby to transport it back to the host machine after a random waiting period.

The DPA and numerous international IT suppliers are working to find patent solutions to the problem of fending off the virus permanently. The DPA has nevertheless already commented that no material advances can be made until Microsoft takes the problem seriously and removes from its operating systems the oxygen that the virus requires - in the form of certain properties of the software. Microsoft is clearly reluctant to do this, as then a considerable part of its own applications would cease to function. The DPA has in any case taken the step of opening talks with other operating systems manufacturers for replacement systems in the event that Microsoft refuses to make the necessary changes.

In addition to the order to use secure admin networks, the DPA has issued a list of other security measures. Industry-standard PCs may no longer be used for telephone calls. Also, such machines may not even be close at hand when telephone conversations are in progress. It must also be noted that encryption of data transmissions provides no security against telephone bugging or virus attacks. The present strain of viruses can copy for themselves from host-machines the user’s rights and can therefore break open encryption keys and access files at will.

There are two alternative channels open for telephony alongside the secure networks. One is the mobile phones of the long-established GSM network, and the other is the Nokia Memoryphone or “monsterphone”. Both of these are at the present time safe channels of communication. The data connection on the ageing GSM network is so slow that the virus is unable to get a foothold there and communicate within it. The Nokia phone, on the other hand, has software supplied by the Nokia subsidiary GeoWorks, and is apparently immune to virus penetration.

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