MyDoom, the latest worm to infect computers over the Internet, was designed to attack the website of the SCO Group, a small software maker suing IBM over the use of code for the Linux operating system, experts said today.
In response, SCO, which has drawn the ire of many Linux advocates for its claims that Linux software includes copyrighted code from the Unix operating system, offered a $250,000 reward for "information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for this crime."
Since appearing late yesterday afternoon, the worm has spread rapidly, mostly in North America, accounting for one in nine messages globally, experts said. The volume of messages clogged networks and appeared to be concentrated in corporate environments.
The new worm, also known as Novarg or Shimgapi, is activated when unsuspecting recipients of an e-mail message open a file attachment that releases a virus.
An infected personal computer could then allow attackers to gain unauthorized access and use the computer to aid in an Internet attack to bring down SCO's Web site, said Mr Oliver Friedrichs, senior manager at security company Symantec Corp.
"Certainly there's code in here to launch a denial-of-service attack against SCO on February 1st," Mr Friedrichs told reporters on a conference call.