VBS/SST-A
Threat Scorecard
EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecard
EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards are assessment reports for different malware threats which have been collected and analyzed by our research team. EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards evaluate and rank threats using several metrics including real-world and potential risk factors, trends, frequency, prevalence, and persistence. EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards are updated regularly based on our research data and metrics and are useful for a wide range of computer users, from end users seeking solutions to remove malware from their systems to security experts analyzing threats.
EnigmaSoft Threat Scorecards display a variety of useful information, including:
Ranking: The ranking of a particular threat in EnigmaSoft’s Threat Database.
Severity Level: The determined severity level of an object, represented numerically, based on our risk modeling process and research, as explained in our Threat Assessment Criteria.
Infected Computers: The number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular threat detected on infected computers as reported by SpyHunter.
See also Threat Assessment Criteria.
| Threat Level: | 20 % (Normal) |
| Infected Computers: | 1 |
| First Seen: | March 6, 2012 |
| Last Seen: | February 5, 2023 |
| OS(es) Affected: | Windows |
VBS/SST-A is one of the most notorious pieces of malware in history. VBS/SST-A is one of the first examples of worms that can use the infected computer system's email, so it can spread to as much computer systems as it is able. Written in Visual Basic (VBS), VBS/SST-A would look at Microsoft Outlook's email contacts and then send email messages carrying the infection to all the addresses on this list. While VBS/SST-A, commonly known as the Anna Kournikova worm, is not particularly sophisticated or complicated in its design – in fact, its creator Jan de Wit was a young man from The Netherlands that used a virus construction kit. Basically, VBS/SST-A took advantage of the media hype around attractive tennis star Anna Kournikova, making its users believe that VBS/SST-A was in fact a picture of the beautiful tennis player. The VBS/SST-A worm was designed to send out the following email message:
Subject: Here you have, ;0)
Attached file: AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs
Note the fact that the VBS file containing the VBS/SST-A worm itself is not particularly well-hidden. However, this kind of attack went around the world due to its clever use of Anna Kournikova's universal appeal. While viruses and worms were nothing new, a social engineering attack on this scale was something unprecedented for the time.
Table of Contents
Millions Around the World Duped by the VBS/SST-A Worm
In fact, while hackers and computer scammers are portrayed in fiction as amazing computer geniuses who cleverly break codes and infiltrate security systems, they have more in common with con men, who attack their victims on a personal level. In most cases, the computer users themselves are ultimately responsible for the malware infection, often downloading and installing the threat themselves. While the VBS/SST-A worm infected millions, the prosecution was unable to pin more than a couple dozen of cases to VBS/SST-A's creator. VBS/SST-A has clogged up email servers all around the world and was responsible for millions of dollars in lost revenue and damage – all because of a cleverly-named file and people's wishes to look at a scantily-clad tennis star.
File System Details
| # | File Name |
Detections
Detections: The number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular threat detected on
infected computers as reported by SpyHunter.
|
|---|---|---|
| 1. | AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs |
Registry Details
URLs
VBS/SST-A may call the following URLs:
| service-care.space |
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