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“ “Take Windows,” he explained. “The understanding of Windows’ operating system, and how it worked in the kernel, needed that kind of a domain expert, and they had that kind of ability there. And we realized as a community that we were not dealing with something normal. We’re dealing with one of two things: either we’re dealing with incredibly sophisticated cyber criminals, or we’re dealing with a group that was funded by a nation-state. Because this wasn’t the kind of team that you could just assemble by getting your five buddies who play Xbox 360 and saying, ‘Let’s all work together and see what we can do.’” ”

“ There were other improvements to Conficker. Among them: besides shutting down whatever security system was installed on the computer it invaded, and preventing it from communicating with computer-security Web sites, it stopped the computer from connecting with Microsoft to perform Windows updates. So even though Microsoft was providing patches, the infected machines could not get to them. In addition, it modified the computer’s bandwidth settings to increase speed and propagate itself faster; and it began to spread itself in different ways, including via USB drives. This last innovation meant that even “closed” computer networks, those with no connection to the Internet, were vulnerable, since users who cannot readily transmit files from point to point via the Web often store and transport them on small USB drives. If one of those USB drives, or a CD, was plugged into an infected computer, it could deliver the worm to an entire closed network. ”