Industry News Coverage (2005 Archive)

Below is a comprehensive monthly review of the news and other media's coverage of CME. A brief summary of each news item is listed with its title, author (if identified), date, and media source.

Techworld, December 9, 2005

CME was mentioned in a December 9, 2005 article on Techworld entitled "Sober worm cracked." CME is mentioned as follows: "Last month the latest version, called Sober.Y by F-Secure (or CME-681 using US-CERT's CME naming system), was responsible for the biggest outbreak of the year, and still accounts for about 40 percent of all infections detected by F-Secure." The article was written by Matthew Broersma. Details about CME-681 and all CME identifiers are available on the CME List.

Techworld, December 7, 2005

CME was the main topic of a December 7, 2005 article on Techworld entitled "Security experts criticise malware list." The article is a review of the launch of CME and makes recommendations that vendor links for aliases and other information also be included with the identifiers on the CME List—enhancements that have since been added. The article also includes a quote about the launch by Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant with Sophos Antivirus, who states: "[CME is] a definite step in the right direction. The most important thing is that its making correlations between the different names." The article was written by Matthew Broersma.

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AXcess News, November 24, 2005

CME was mentioned in a November 24, 2005 article on AXcess News entitled "Computer Worm Posing as Fake FBI E-Mail." CME is mentioned in the article as one of the aliases assigned to the threat: "The Sober worm is also known as CME-681, WORM_SOBER.AG [Trend Micro], W32/Sober-{X, Z} [Sophos], Win32.Sober.W [Computer Associates], Sober.Y [F-Secure], W32/Sober@MM!M681 [McAfee], W32/Sober.AA@mm [Norman]." The article was written by Dave Porter. Details about CME-681 and all CME identifiers are available on the CME List.

ZDNet News, November 23, 2005

CME was mentioned in a November 23, 2005 article on ZDNet News entitled "Latest Sober threatens e-mail gateways." CME is mentioned as follows: "While the worm variant is named differently by the security vendors, the Common Malware Enumeration system, launched last month, labels the new threat CME-681." The article was written by Munir Kotadia. Details about CME-681 and all CME identifiers are available on the CME List.

CNet News, November 23, 2005

CME was mentioned in a November 23, 2005 article on CNet News entitled "Latest Sober threatens e-mail gateways." The article, written by Munir Kotadia, is reprint of the ZDNet article above.

About.com, November 21, 2005

CME was mentioned in a November 21, 2005 article entitled "Sober.X Worm Description" in the Anti-Virus Software section of About.com. CME is mentioned in the article as one of the aliases assigned to the Sober.X mass-mailing email worm: "The Sober.X worm has several aliases, including: CME-681, WORM_SOBER.AG, W32/Sober-X, Win32.Sober.W, Sober.Y, and W32/Sober@MM!M681."

ZATAZ News, November 10, 2005

CME was the main topic of this November 10, 2005 article on ZATAZ News entitled "Common Malware Enumeration." The article, which was written in French, announces that McAfee, Inc. has joined the CME Editorial Board and that McAfee said it would reference CME identifier information on its virus information library on the McAfee Web site. The article also describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, and notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT.

McAfee is a founding member of the CME Editorial Board and the CME Sample Redistribution Group. CME and US-CERT are sponsored by the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

DAWN Sci-TechWorld, November 3, 2005

CME was the main topic of a November 3, 2005 article on DAWN Sci-Tech World entitled "Tips and tricks: Worming it out." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, mentions members of the CME Editorial Board, discusses the role of the CME Sample Redistribution Group, and provides a link to the CME Web site.

The author states: "It is highly likely that members of the information security community will gradually adopt CME initiative to streamline the communication among themselves, the media and the public. As support with open source community catching up, CME has got strong academic uses as well. With Pakistan joining the net bandwagon, there's much emphasis on providing secure communication channels and use of CME will surely help professionals particularly those involved in vulnerability analysis."

The article was written by Nizar Diamond Ali. CME and US-CERT are sponsored by the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

Secure Enterprise Magazine, November 1, 2005

CME was the main topic of a brief November 1, 2005 opinion article in Secure Enterprise Magazine entitled "All the Rage: Common Malware Enumeration Initiative's Virus Naming Unnecessary." The article describes what CME is, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and discusses challenges the initiative faces. The article was written by Tim Wilson.

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Processor Magazine, October 21, 2005

CME was the main topic of a brief October 21, 2005 article in the MarketPlace News column of Processor Magazine entitled "Moving Toward Common Virus Names." The article describes what CME is, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, and notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT.

SiliconRepublic.com, October 14, 2005

CME was the main topic of this October 14, 2005 article on Ireland's technology news service, SiliconRepublic.com, entitled "What's in a name?" The article was written as coverage of the announcement about the launch of CME at the Virus Bulletin Conference on October 5th, 2005 in Dublin, Ireland. The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, mentions members of the CME Editorial Board, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, discusses the challenges the initiative faces, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article was written by Gordon Smith.

Norman Web Site, October 13, 2005

Norman ASA issued a press release on October 13, 2005 entitled "Norman works for increased public understanding of IT security threats." The release announces that Norman has joined the "Common Malware Enumeration (CME), an international organisation that works for common definitions of new virus threats in order to reduce public confusion during malware outbreaks." The release describes what CME is and isn't and mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve.

In addition, the release states "Norman has already started using the CME classification when analyzing [viruses]. This happened last week during the outbreak of Sober." A url for a Norman virus description that referenced CME-151 was also provided.

Norman is a founding member of the CME Editorial Board and the CME Sample Redistribution Group. CME and US-CERT are sponsored by the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

Content-Wire, October 13, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 13, 2005 article on Content-Wire entitled "Virus Naming Confusion Sorted." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article also includes a quote about CME from Mark Harris, the director of CME Editorial Board member Sophos' research centers, who states: "[CME] will benefit customers in securing their computers from malware attack without disrupting rapid virus analysis."

Techworld.com, October 12, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 12, 2005 article on Techworld.com entitled "Naming the Nasties." The article describes what CME is, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, references CME-15, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article was written by John Dunn.

IT News Online, October 10, 2005

CME was the main topic of this October 10, 2005 article on IT News Online entitled "McAfee AVERT Joins Common Malware Enumeration's Editorial Board." The article announces that McAfee, Inc. has joined the CME Editorial Board and that "McAfee said it would reference the identifier information on its virus information library located on the McAfee Web site (vil.nai.com), so that users could search for a threat by its identifying number as well as the virus name." The article also describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, and notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT.

McAfee is a founding member of the CME Editorial Board and the CME Sample Redistribution Group. CME and US-CERT are sponsored by the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

Computerworld Singapore, October 10, 2005

CME was the main topic of this October 10, 2005 article on Computerworld Singapore entitled "Sophos joins drive to cure virus-naming confusion." The article announces that Sophos Plc. has joined the CME Editorial Board and that the Sophos virus analyses database will display a CME identifier for every virus identified by CME. The article also describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and includes a link to the CME Web site.

Sophos is a founding member of the CME Editorial Board and the CME Sample Redistribution Group. CME and US-CERT are sponsored by the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

TechTree.com, October 9, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 9, 2005 article on TechTree.com, India's Technology Daily, entitled "Anti-virus Board to Help Users." The article describes what CME is, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and mentions members of the CME Editorial Board and lists several of the organizations participating.

LinuxElectrons, October 9, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 9, 2005 article on LinuxElectrons entitled "Common Malware Enumeration Initiative Now Available." The article describes what CME is, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, and mentions members of the CME Editorial Board and lists several of the organizations participating, and notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT.

Post-Gazette.com, October 8, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 8, 2005 article on Post-Gazette.com entitled "Worry Watch: Group aims to clear up confusing virus names." The article describes what CME is, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, references CME-15, mentions members of the CME Editorial Board and lists several of the organizations participating, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article was written by David Radin and Jes Scherder.

EnterpriseITPlanet.com, October 7, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 7, 2005 article on EnterpriseITPlanet.com entitled "Vendors Team Up to Solve Virus Naming Confusion." The article describes what CME is, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, and notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT. The article also includes a quote about CME from Steve Sundermeier, a vice president at Central Command, an anti-virus and anti-spam company, who states: "The benefit is to the end user, so the media and users can call up a virus name and it's all synchronized. 'It's hard to get information on Mytob-FC when other people are calling it Mytob-JT. It's about information sources. "The article was written by Sharon Gaudin.

ITNews.com.au, October 7, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 7, 2005 article on ITNews.com.au entitled "New worm naming scheme aims to cut confusion." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, cites CME-151, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and mentions members of the CME Editorial Board. The article also includes a quote about CME from Mark Harris, the director of CME Editorial Board member Sophos' research centers, who states: "[CME] will benefit customers in securing their computers from malware attack without disrupting rapid virus analysis." The article was written by Gregg Keizer.

SmartOfficeNews, October 7, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 7, 2005 article in SmartOfficeNews entitled "Malware Gets New Names." The article describes what CME is and isn't and mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve. Registration is required to read the article, which was written by Adam Gosling.

Computer Shopper UK, October 7, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 7, 2005 article in Computer Shopper UK entitled "Virus Bulletin Conference: Industry unveils unified naming for virus threats." The article was written as coverage of the announcement about the launch of CME at the Virus Bulletin Conference on October 5th, 2005 in Dublin, Ireland. The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, mentions members of the CME Editorial Board, discusses the challenges the initiative faces, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article was written by Kelly Ellis.

PC Pro, October 7, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 7, 2005 article in PC Pro entitled "Virus Bulletin Conference: Industry unveils unified naming for virus threats." The article was written as coverage of the announcement about the launch of CME at the Virus Bulletin Conference on October 5th, 2005 in Dublin, Ireland. The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, lists the members of the CME Editorial Board, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article was written by Kelly Ellis.

NewsFactor Magazine, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 6, 2005 article on NewsFactor Magazine entitled "CERT Pushes for Standard Malware Names." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and mentions members of the CME Editorial Board.

Network Computing, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 6, 2005 article on Network Computing's Systems Management Pipeline entitled "New Worm Naming Scheme Aims To Cut Confusion." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, cites CME-151, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, mentions members of the CME Editorial Board, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article also includes a quote about CME from Mark Harris, the director of CME Editorial Board member Sophos' research centers, who states: "[CME] will benefit customers in securing their computers from malware attack without disrupting rapid virus analysis." The article was written by Gregg Keizer.

TechBuilder.org, October 6, 2005

CME was mentioned in an October 6, 2005 article on TechBuilder.org entitled "New Version of Sober Worm Slams Users." CME is mentioned as follows: "In a side note, the new Sober made history as the first piece of malicious code to be assigned a CME (Common Malware Enumeration) identifier as it hit the Internet: "CME-151." The CME identifying process is an attempt by US-CERT and private anti-virus vendors to reduce the confusion over the multiple names many worms and viruses receive." The article was written by Gregg Keizer.

ZDNet Belgium, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 6, 2005 article published on ZDNet.com.be entitled "CERT houdt wormen boven doopvont." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and lists members of the CME Editorial Board. The article was written by Jamie Biesemans.

CIO Today, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 6, 2005 article on CIO Today entitled "CERT Pushes for Standard Malware Names." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and mentions members of the CME Editorial Board.

Desktop Pipeline, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 6, 2005 article on Desktop Pipeline entitled "New Worm Naming Scheme Aims To Cut Confusion." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, cites CME-151, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, mentions members of the CME Editorial Board, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article also includes a quote about CME from Mark Harris, the director of CME Editorial Board member Sophos' research centers, who states: "[CME] will benefit customers in securing their computers from malware attack without disrupting rapid virus analysis." The article was written by Gregg Keizer.

NewsFactor Magazine Online, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 6, 2005 article on NewsFactor Magazine Online entitled "CERT Pushes for Standard Malware Names." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and mentions members of the CME Editorial Board.

TechWeb.com, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 6, 2005 article on TechWeb.com entitled "New Worm Naming Scheme Aims To Cut Confusion." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, cites CME-151, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, mentions members of the CME Editorial Board, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article also includes a quote about CME from Mark Harris, the director of CME Editorial Board member Sophos' research centers, who states: "[CME] will benefit customers in securing their computers from malware attack without disrupting rapid virus analysis." The article was written by Gregg Keizer.

vnunet.com, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 6, 2005 article on vnunet.com entitled "Security industry adopts uniform virus names." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, mentions members of the CME Editorial Board and lists several of the organizations participating, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article was written by Tom Sanders.

ZDNet UK, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 6, 2005 article published on ZDNet UK entitled "Virus naming scheme divides experts."The article was written as coverage of the announcement about the launch of CME at the Virus Bulletin Conference on October 5th, 2005 in Dublin, Ireland. The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, lists members of the CME Editorial Board, and discusses the challenges the initiative faces. The article was written by Tom Espiner.

CNET News.com, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 6, 2005 article published on CNET News.com entitled "A tangle over virus IDs." The article, written as coverage of the announcement about the launch of CME at the Virus Bulletin Conference on October 5th, 2005 in Dublin, Ireland, describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, lists members of the CME Editorial Board, and discusses the challenges the initiative faces. The article was written by Tom Espiner.

eWeek, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 6, 2005 article in eWeek entitled "Malware Naming Plan Gets Chilly Reception." The article was written as coverage of the announcement about the launch of CME at the Virus Bulletin Conference on October 5th, 2005 in Dublin, Ireland. The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, and discusses the challenges the initiative faces. The article was written by Paul F. Roberts.

Yahoo News UK & Ireland, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 6, 2005 article in Yahoo News UK & Ireland entitled "Virus Naming Schema Gets Chilly Reception." The article was written as coverage of the announcement about the launch of CME at the Virus Bulletin Conference on October 5th, 2005 in Dublin, Ireland. The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, mentions members of the CME Editorial Board and lists several of the organizations participating, and discusses the challenges the initiative faces. Also included is a quote from Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos Plc., who states that with CME "Big-hitting viruses will [now] be tied together with a common thread." The article was written by John Leyden.

Information Week, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of this article in Information Week entitled "New Worm Naming Scheme Aims To Cut Confusion." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, cites CME-151, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and mentions members of the CME Editorial Board. The article also includes a quote about CME from Mark Harris, the director of CME Editorial Board member Sophos' research centers, who states: "[CME] will benefit customers in securing their computers from malware attack without disrupting rapid virus analysis." The article was written by Gregg Keizer.

CXOtoday, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 6, 2005 article on CXOtoday.com entitled "Leading Vendors Adopt Common Virus Nomenclature." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, describes CME identifiers, details the process for assigning CME identifiers, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, describes MITRE Corporation and its role, lists the members of the CME Editorial Board, and provides a link to the CME Web site.

The Register, October 6, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 6, 2005 article in The Register entitled "Virus naming scheme gets mixed reception." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, lists the members of the CME Editorial Board, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article was written by John Leyden.

Help Net Security, October 5, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 5, 2005 article on HNS.com entitled "Common Malware Enumeration Initiative." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, mentions members of the CME Editorial Board, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article also includes a quote about CME from Mark Harris, the director of CME Editorial Board member Sophos' research centers, who states: "Historically, regulating virus naming has proven difficult for security vendors, because of the need to issue threat protection as quickly as possible to customers. We encourage more anti-virus vendors to participate in this initiative, which will benefit customers involved in securing their computers from malware attack without disrupting the serious work of rapid virus analysis and protection."

MSN Money, October 5, 2005

CME was the main topic of this October 5, 2005 article on MSN Money.com entitled "McAfee,Inc. Supports Common Malware Enumeration Initiative to Help Alleviate Problems With Malware Naming." The article announces that McAfee, Inc. has joined the CME Editorial Board and that "McAfee said it would reference the identifier information on its virus information library located on the McAfee Web site (vil.nai.com), so that users could search for a threat by its identifying number as well as the virus name." The article also describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, and notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT.

In addition, the article includes a quote from Jimmy Kuo, research fellow, McAfee AVERT, who states: "During the outbreak process it can be difficult for anti-virus companies to stay coordinated with virus names, and, as a result, threats are given a variety of names and variant designations. This is even harder on IT administrators, because their products may be alerting them to threats with completely different names than what another security vendor may be calling them. The CME initiative will help alleviate this problem with the use of identifiers, so even if a name is slightly different between various vendors, the identifier will match."

McAfee is a founding member of the CME Editorial Board and the CME Sample Redistribution Group. CME and US-CERT are sponsored by the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

Enterprise Networking Planet, October 5, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 5, 2005 article on Enterprise Networking Planet entitled "Malware ID System Enjoys Broad Support." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, mentions members of the CME Editorial Board, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article was written by Michael Hall.

McAfee Web Site, October 5, 2005

McAfee, Inc. issued a press release on October 5, 2005 entitled "McAfee, Inc. Supports Common Malware Enumeration Initiative to Help Alleviate Problems With Malware Naming." The release announces that McAfee has joined the "CME Editorial Board to help bring the CME's concept to maturity and to help expand its reach to other members of the anti-malware industry. "The release describes what CME is and isn't, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve.

The release also includes a quote from Jimmy Kuo, research fellow, McAfee AVERT, the company's Anti-Virus and Vulnerability Emergency Response Team, who states: "During the outbreak process it can be difficult for anti-virus companies to stay coordinated with virus names, and, as a result, threats are given a variety of names and variant designations. This is even harder on IT administrators, because their products may be alerting them to threats with completely different names than what another security vendor may be calling them. The CME initiative will help alleviate this problem with the use of identifiers, so even if a name is slightly different between various vendors, the identifier will match."

McAfee is a founding member of the CME Editorial Board and the CME Sample Redistribution Group. CME and US-CERT are sponsored by the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

Sophos Web Site, October 5, 2005

Sophos Plc. issued a press release on October 5, 2005 entitled "Sophos joins drive to cure virus-naming confusion." The release announces that Sophos has joined the "editorial board for the Common Malware Enumeration (CME) initiative, an industry group whose aim is to provide unique, common identifiers to new malware threats." The release describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, describes the role of the CME Editorial Board, and includes a link to the CME Web site. The release also states "For every virus identified by CME, Sophos will display the CME reference in its extensive database of virus analyses." Also included is a quote from Mark Harris, director of SophosLabs, Sophos's network of virus and spam research centers, who states: "We encourage more anti-virus vendors to participate in this initiative, which will benefit customers involved in securing their computers from malware attack without disrupting the serious work of rapid virus analysis and protection." Sophos is a founding member of the CME Editorial Board and the CME Sample Redistribution Group. CME and US-CERT are sponsored by the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

Yahoo News UK & Ireland, October 5, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 5, 2005 article in Yahoo News UK & Ireland entitled "Security industry gathers behind uniform virus names." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, mentions members of the CME Editorial Board and lists several of the organizations participating, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article was written by Tom Sanders.

ZDNet News, October 5, 2005

CME was the main topic of an October 5, 2005 article published on ZDNet News entitled "Worm ID scheme gets under way." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, lists members of the CME Editorial Board, and provides a link to the CME Web site. The article was written by Karen Said.

MITRE Corporation Press Release, October 5, 2005

The MITRE Corporation issued a press release entitled "Common Malware Enumeration Initiative Now Available" on October 5, 2005 formally announcing the launch of the CME initiative. The release describes what CME is and isn't, discusses the CME Editorial Board, and mentions the address of the CME Web site.

CME is sponsored by US-CERT at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. MITRE maintains CME and provides neutral guidance to the CME Sample Redistribution Group and CME Editorial Board throughout the process to ensure that CME serves the public interest.

Security Depot Online, October 2005

CME was the main topic of this October 2005 article on Security Depot Online entitled "McAfee, Inc. Supports Common Malware Enumeration Initiative to Help Alleviate Problems With Malware Naming." The article announces that McAfee, Inc. has joined the CME Editorial Board and that "McAfee said it would reference the identifier information on its virus information library located on the McAfee Web site (vil.nai.com), so that users could search for a threat by its identifying number as well as the virus name." The article also describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, and notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT.

In addition, the article includes a quote from Jimmy Kuo, research fellow, McAfee AVERT, who states: "During the outbreak process it can be difficult for anti-virus companies to stay coordinated with virus names, and, as a result, threats are given a variety of names and variant designations. This is even harder on IT administrators, because their products may be alerting them to threats with completely different names than what another security vendor may be calling them. The CME initiative will help alleviate this problem with the use of identifiers, so even if a name is slightly different between various vendors, the identifier will match."

McAfee is a founding member of the CME Editorial Board and the CME Sample Redistribution Group. CME and US-CERT are sponsored by the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

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Virus Bulletin Web Site, September 30, 2005

An article entitled "CME initiative sets forth" describing CME was published in the Latest News section of VirusBulletin.com. The article discusses the public launch of CME and describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes the article about CME in their September issue ("The Common Malware Enumeration Initiative"), and provides a link to the CME Web site.

eWeek, September 29, 2005

CME was the main topic of an article in eWeek entitled "No Solution at Hand for the Malware Naming Mess." The article describes what CME is and isn't and mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve. The article was written by Larry Seltzer.

SearchSecurity.com, September 29, 2005

CME was the main topic of a September 29, 2005 article on SearchSecurity.com entitled "Will US-CERT bring sanity to virus naming?" The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and mentions members of the CME Editorial Board. The article also includes a quote about the potential for CME from Lenny Zeltser, practice leader at New York-based Gemini Systems LLC and a volunteer handler for the Bethesda, Md.-based SANS Internet Storm Center, who states: "If CME lives up to its potential, security practitioners will save valuable time by relying on a single CME tag to identify a particular malicious program across multiple anti-virus databases." CME and US-CERT are sponsored by the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

Sans NewsBites, September 27, 2005

CME was the main topic of a brief September 27, 2005 article in the SANS NewsBites e-newsletter entitled "Common Malware Enumeration Initiative to be Launched in October" The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, and notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT.

Silicon.fr, September 26, 2005

CME was the main topic of a September 26, 2005 article on Silicon.fr entitled "Virus: CME, CVE, CXE, alea jacta is!" The article describes what CME is and isn't, references CME-540, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, describes the role of the CME Editorial Board and lists several of the organizations participating, and discusses the challenges the initiative faces. The article was written by Thierry Evangelista.

Vulnerabilite.com, September 26, 2005

CME was the main topic of a September 26, 2005 article on Vulnerabilite.com entitled "Virus: CME, CVE, CXE, alea jacta is!" The article describes what CME is and isn't, references CME-540, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, describes the role of the CME Editorial Board and lists several of the organizations participating , and discusses the challenges the initiative faces. The article was written by Thierry Evangelista.

All Headline News, September 25, 2005

CME was the main topic of an article on All Headline News entitled "Computer Malware To Be Unveiled." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, and notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT. The article was written by Matthew Borghese.

CNet News.com UK, September 23, 2005

CME was the main topic of a September 23, 2005 article published on CNet News.com UK entitled "You say tomato, I say Internet Worm." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, provides an overview of how CME identifiers are assigned, references CME-540, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and describes the role of the CME Editorial Board and lists several of the organizations participating.

The article also includes a quote from CME Team Member Desiree Beck, who states, "There is a lot of confusion over the way that malware is referred to. We're trying to alleviate that by giving malware a common identifier, so everybody is talking about the same thing when some malware event happens."

The article was written by Joris Evers. CME and US-CERT are sponsored by the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

Silicon.com, September 23, 2005

CME was the main topic of a September 23, 2005 article in Silicon.com entitled "Malware ID scheme set to sort naming muddle." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, provides an overview of how CME identifiers are assigned, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and describes the role of the CME Editorial Board and lists several of the organizations participating.

The article also includes a quote from CME Team Member Desiree Beck describing how CME works: "A CME identifier should get assigned within hours of a new worm or virus starting to spread. Security vendors then should include the number in their products and link from their advisories to the information on the CME Web site, which is set to debut in early October. The proposal is for security companies to add the CME tag to the threat names. An alert popping up on a user's screen could [read] like this: "Zotob.E!CME-540 detected."

The article was written by Joris Evers. CME and US-CERT are sponsored by the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

ZDNet Australia, September 23, 2005

CME was the main topic of an September 23, 2005 article published on ZDNet Australia entitled "US-CERT to unveil global worm-naming plan." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, provides an overview of how CME identifiers are assigned, references CME-540, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and describes the role of the CME Editorial Board and lists several of the organizations participating. The article was written by Joris Evers.

CNET.com, September 23, 2005

CME was the main topic of a September 23, 2005 article in CNET.com entitled "This week in security." The article mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve and discusses some examples. The article was written by Michelle Meyers.

CIO Insight, September 22, 2005

CME was the main topic of a September 23, 2005 article in CIO Insight entitled "US-CERT Malware Naming Plan Faces Obstacles." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, and discusses the challenges the initiative faces. The article was written by Paul F. Roberts.

CNET.com, September 22, 2005

CME was the main topic of a September 22, 2005 article in CNET.com entitled "Name that worm—plan looks to cut through chaos." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, cites CME-540 and describes the threat it refers to, provides an overview of how CME identifiers are assigned, notes that CME is sponsored by US-CERT, and describes the role of the CME Editorial Board and lists several of the organizations participating.

The article also includes a quote from CME Team Member Desiree Beck describing how CME works: "A CME identifier should get assigned within hours of a new worm or virus starting to spread. Security vendors then should include the number in their products and link from their advisories to the information on the CME Web site, which is set to debut in early October. The proposal is for security companies to add the CME tag to the threat names. An alert popping up on a user's screen could [read] like this: "Zotob.E!CME-540 detected."

CME and US-CERT are sponsored by the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

eWeek, September 22, 2005

CME was the main topic of a September 22, 2005 article in eWeek entitled "US-CERT Malware Naming Plan Faces Obstacles." The article describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, and lists several members of the CME Editorial Board. The article also includes a quote from MITRE CME Project Leader Julie Connolly who states: "MITRE has created a secure server to which participating anti-virus companies pass their discoveries, and will launch a CME Web site on [Oct. 5] that will list about [26] viruses with CME numbers. Initially, only high-impact viruses and worms will receive CME numbers, though MITRE may extend CME numbers to lower-level threats once the program is up and running.

Virus Bulletin, September 2005

An article entitled "The Common Malware Enumeration Initiative" describing CME was published in the September 2005 issue of the Virus Bulletin. The article serves as the public launch of CME and describes what CME is and isn't, mentions the problems that use of CME's common identifiers will solve, describes CME identifiers, details the process for assigning CME identifiers, lists the members of the CME Editorial Board, and advocates the adoption of CME by the anti-virus and information security communities for the benefit of the public. The article will also be presented as a briefing topic at the upcoming Virus Bulletin Conference on October 5th-7th, 2005 in Dublin, Ireland.

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