Double Skype attack confuses security firms

Two different pieces of malware were set loose on Skype users this week and although neither seems to be causing serious problems, security firms are confused.

Just 24 hours after warning that there may be a worm exploiting the popular Skype Internet telephony service, Websense reclassified the pest as a Trojan horse. Symantec has published an advisory about a similar piece of malware attacking the same program but it is calling the malware a worm. Finnish antivirus firm F-Secure admitted the double attack has confused security firms.

The confusion seems to have arisen because security firms have different variants of the malware, said F-Secure.

“We’ve received some queries about a possible Skype worm going around. The situation is a bit confusing right now,” wrote Mikko Hypp?ɬ?nen, chief research officer, in the F-Secure blog.

Hypp?ɬ?nen explains that there are only a limited number of infected systems.

Full story: ZDNet Australia