Intellectual Property Law

Conficker: How a Buffer Overflow Works

By Ryan Singel, Kevin Poulsen, Sarah Lai Stirland, Kim Zetter, and David Kravets

Like so much malware before it, the dreaded Conficker worm spreads primarily through a type of software bug called a "buffer overflow" -- a class of vulnerability first mass-exploited by the Morris worm more than 20 years ago.

In honor of April 1 -- Conficker Day -- Threat Level offers this kid-friendly interactive explanation of how a simple buffer overflow attack operates.

Full post as published by Threat Level on March 31, 2009 (boomark / email).