Reports emerged in the US last week of an alleged FBI project
code named Magic Lantern. Although details of the project are
rather vague, it is claimed that Magic Lantern is contained in an
e-mail attachment which is capable of inserting FBI spy-ware inside
the recipient PC.
On Monday, Network Associates issued a statement of denial saying
that it had neither contacted, nor been contacted by the FBI and
that it does not expect the FBI to do so. The statement also
pointed out that the existence of Magic Lantern had not been
confirmed by the FBI or any government agency and that Network
Associates intends to comply with US law and claims that it has
always done so.
The statement has done little to quell the worries of critics
who described the statement as narrow and claimed that it could be
easily circumvented.
Coincidentally, a new computer worm known as BadTrans.B emerged
this week. BadTransB works in much the same way as the mythical
Magic Lantern. The worm installs hacking software and, while not
destructive, it does install a keylogger, a program that records
what a person using the infected PC types and then sends the
information to the virus writer's e-mail address.
The key-logging program, known as Backdoor-NK.server, focuses
specifically on four software functions that are used by programs
to allow a person to enter a password, so it mainly records account
information entered.
