When Microsoft Corp. shipped the MS05-039 bulletin on Aug. 9 to patch a "critical" flaw in the Windows Plug and Play service, there was general feeling of trepidation within the Microsoft Security Response Center.
Software engineers at the Redmond, Wash., company smelled trouble right off the bat. It had been more than a year since the Sasser worm outbreak and, to MSRC Program Manager Stephen Toulouse, the severity of this PnP vulnerability brought back a mixture of memories ranging from chaos and confusion to outright pride in the way the Sasser threat was handled.
During the Sasser outbreak, Toulouse was at a service station when he learned of the attacks over his car radio. He recalls buzzing pagers, screeching tires and puzzled faces as he scrambled to get to Redmond to start the process of containing the worm.
This time around, it would be different. "This has been a very disciplined week," Toulouse said in an interview from the MSRC's specially created "Situation Room" at the height of the recent Zotob worm attacks.
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