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'Malware' infiltrates state computer: FBI, forensics firm investigating intrusion
Sep 11, 2009 (The Santa Fe New Mexican - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
The FBI is helping investigate the release of "malware" onto a state employee's desktop computer and a Department of Health server, a state spokeswoman said.
Department of Information Technology spokeswoman Deborah Martinez said Thursday that she didn't know what kind of link an employee "unknowingly" clicked while at work, or whether the link was on a Web site or in an e-mail.
Malware, short for malicious software, is software that tries to infiltrate a computer for information.
"We have no evidence that any client or personal information has been compromised," Martinez said.
"Activity was confined to the (Department of Health) network, and did not affect any other state agencies," she said.
But she also said the state is paying a forensics firm $29,000 to "determine the extent of the intrusion."
Martinez said she couldn't say what kind of information on the employee's computer might have been of interest to the originators of the malware.
The affected server has been quarantined, and its address has been blocked from transmitting information to or from the state network, she said.
"I can't say a lot because we don't want the folks who are attempting to get the stuff to get clues as to how they could get around security," she said. "We hope people will just be very vigilant when they are surfing, when it looks like a legitimate site."
She said she didn't know if there is a criminal investigation into the situation at this point.
A source familiar with the situation said "many important logins and passwords were compromised" in the incident, but Martinez said, "To my knowledge, there wasn't."
Martinez said the department, which provides information technology support to state government agencies, is routinely able to thwart hacking attempts. "Every day we get attempts, but we are able to block them out."
The contract with the forensics firm is for however long it takes to fix the problem, she added.
In cases where the FBI assists another government agency, it defers to that agency's spokesperson, an FBI representative said.
Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.
To see more of The Santa Fe New Mexican, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The Santa Fe New Mexican
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