So I came across this article today. Short version: Symantec, the makers of the Norton Anti-Virus line of products, had some of its software cracked recently. It was older software, and it was their business line, not the consumer line, that was affected. And the chance of it affecting a large number of people or businesses is slim.
The part that surpises me is that you don’t hear about this happening more often. I mean, it’s the anti-virus software that often stops the hackers in the first place. So why don’t the hackers target the anti-virus software directly?
I expect that since this item has made it to the near-mainstream media, we may start hearing more about attacks of this type, where the anti-virus software itself is the target. If hackers can defeat the AV software, but still make it look like it’s running properly then there are some big problems in store. One of the things IT folks look for when diagnosing strange behaviour is, “Is the anti-virus running properly’.
Business managers should know exactly what they are running for anti-virus, and should be able to generate reports based on when the computer last updated with new virus definitions. It’s not much, but it’s something at least to show that the anti virus is working the way it’s supposed to.
