Reflex Security®, Inc., pioneer and innovator in network security and intrusion prevention systems (IPS), today announced that Reflex VSA, (Virtual Security Appliance), the company's security software for VMware and other virtual environments, offers detection and protection against the Storm worm -- the malware attack that has infected thousands of computers worldwide since it was first detected in mid-January 2007.

The so-called "Storm worm" is a backdoor Trojan Horse botnet that creates a network of infected computers that can be issued commands by an external malicious operator.

"The Storm worm attacks are the most widespread and dynamic we've seen in the last two years," said Hezi Moore, CTO of Reflex Security. "Enterprise employees are likely to have received numerous e-mails with phony invitations to e-cards and fake news bulletins that lead them to unfamiliar URL addresses that can potentially lead to their computer being infected with the malicious software known as the Storm worm."

Recently, variants of the widespread Storm worm go beyond infecting physical networks, and can now detect two virtual environments: VMware and Microsoft's Virtual PC. If the Storm worm detects a virtual machine, it will bypass traditional host-based security systems by modifying its behavior, and restarting the system.

Reflex Security Stops Storm worm

Reflex Security stops the Storm worm through three different security mechanisms. First, Reflex VSA detects the e-card executable and blocks the infection before the e-card reaches the server. Second, Reflex VSA blocks any attempts to connect to an external malicious website. Third, the Reflex Security solution will thwart any attempt by the malicious website to exploit a browser to compromise the user's system. Reflex VSA's network discovery employs an anomaly behavior module which will detect frequent reboots of the worm and unusual behavior of the virtual machine.

"With the rapid adoption of virtual networks in enterprise environments, it is imperative that virtual networks must be as safe and reliable as physical networks," said Moore.

All Reflex Security products (including Reflex VSA) connect to Reflex Security's Update Center for new attack signatures. The Reflex Security threat signature library evaluates every packet and a stream of packets against signatures of known threats, including viruses, worms, reconnaissance activity, backdoor usage, buffer overflows, and more. When new updates are available, the Reflex Command Center (RCC) will automatically download them and update the entire security system. Detection for the Storm worm has been available since Tuesday, August 7, 2007 and is already running on all VSA installations worldwide.