Microsoft offers $250,000 reward over Conficker Worm

Apparently taking out the French Airforce was a step to far, with Microsoft today announcing a $250,000 reward for the folks behind the Conficker worm.

The worm, which is said to have infected over 15 million Windows based computers worldwide, opens infected computers to multiple vulnerabilities, as well as disabling safety features.

Microsoft said in a statement that it has teamed with security researchers, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and operators within the Domain Name System for a coordinated a response designed to disable domains targeted by Conficker.

The full list of companies and groups participating: ICANN, NeuStar, VeriSign, CNNIC, Afilias, Public Internet Registry, Global Domains International Inc., M1D Global, AOL, Symantec, F-Secure, ISC, researchers from Georgia Tech, the Shadowserver Foundation, Arbor Networks and Support Intelligence.