
The sudden appearance of a rootkit file in a spyware-laden IM worm attack has set off new fears that malicious hackers are sophisticated enough to launch a fully automated worm attack against instant messaging networks. In the most recent attack aimed at users of America Online Inc.’s AIM network, the “lockx.exe” rootkit file was bundled with a new variant of the W32/Sdbot Trojan to create a nasty mix of hidden malware.