System administrators point the finger at each other over Conficker virus outbreak

You’re not a very forgiving bunch are you? :) At least, that’s the message I’m getting from the poll we ran overnight.

It looks like 30% of you feel that fellow system administrators should shoulder the blame for the recent Conficker worm outbreak which has affected business across the globe – because they have been too slow to roll out a Microsoft security patch.

Microsoft also felt the wrath, with 17% of respondents feeling that it is the operating system vendor’s fault for having the security hole in the first place. 53% hold the virus writers responsible for the worm which takes advantage of the flaw.

Who is most to blame for the Conficker (aka Downadup) worm outbreak?

So, the majority of users believe that the virus writers must take the ultimate responsibility for deliberately creating and unleashing this worm. And I think that’s right – we must never lose sight…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, or drop him an email.