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Telstra admits malware mistake

A mistake resulted in malware-infected USB sticks being distributed to attendants at an internet security conference, it has been revealed.

Industry publication SearchStorage reports that Australian telecoms operator Telstra gave out the storage devices to those who went to its tutorial on one of the days of the event, run by the Australian Computer Emergency Response Team (AusCERT).

But it was subsequently discovered that the USB drives were infected with malware and those who had received such a gift at the AusCERT 2008 conference were asked to return them.

Up to 1,200 professionals from the IT industry attended the event, although Telstra stresses that only the USB sticks given out at its tutorial are affected with malware, which SearchStorage adds is of the "autorun variety".

SearchStorage reports Telstra marketing manager Claire Groves as saying: "Telstra handed out USB sticks which they didn't know were infected - as soon as they found out they recalled them."

Graham Ingram, general manager of AusCERT, recently told the Data Security blog that, while the Australian public is "clearly concerned" about computer security, more still needs to be done to raise awareness of how to tackle the issue.

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