Millions of computers around the world have been infected, including 3,000 to 4,000 in France. But here is a virus that has just been hit hard: PlugX, transmitted via USB keys. All you have to do is plug one device into an affected one for it to become infected and deposit the program on the next computer. The French company Sequoia has just launched a major clean-up operation. Nothing commercial: everything is done in relation to justice and the gendarmerie.
PlugX is formidable in several ways: first, the speed of contamination, since many of us lend each other our USB keys without any extra precautions. And its value: it allows, without the victims knowing, to take control of their computers. However, it turns out that the server from which the acquisitions were carried out has been abandoned for an unknown reason.
“Purge”
Sequoia took the opportunity to seize it before it fell into the wrong hands. Except that in order to launch a purge, it is once again necessary to intervene remotely on the computers, so the company turns to the J3 section of the Paris prosecutor's office, the department dedicated to cybercrime, to obtain a legal framework for these interventions and the support of the cyber gendarmes, the Center for the Fight against Digital Crime.
The “clean-up operation”, involving both the public and private sectors, is expected to last until the end of the year, including in foreign countries. A preliminary investigation is also underway to try to determine the origin of PlugX. The Paris prosecutor’s office is using this case as a reminder of the importance of continued vigilance, especially as the Olympic Games get underway, with France becoming a preferred target.
