DOD locks down removable media to fight virus attack
STRATCOM has banned the use of flash drives and other removable media as reports indicate a malware attack within the NIPRNET.
Pentagon spokesman Brian Whitman confirmed that the Defense Department is battling an ongoing malware attack within DOD's networks. "We are aware of a global virus for which there are some public alerts, and we've seen some of these on our networks, and we are taking steps to identify and mitigate the virus," Whitman said in an official statement today.
Last week, Strategic Command's mandated that users of the Global Information Grid not use removable media to prevent further spreading of a virus. Wired Magazine's Danger Room blog reported that an Army email alert had been sent out relaying the instructions from STRATCOM, banning the use of removable media -- thumb drives, external disks, CDs and DVDs -- effective immediately. The e-mail indicated a worm, called Agent.btz, was the cause of the move by STRATCOM and Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations (JTF-GNO).