Varun Jain

CS 312

Update on “The Virus Underground”

Spread of Viruses

Ignorant employees are costing UK businesses millions of pounds a year cleaning up viruses which they unwittingly propagate, and thus by doing so, they leave the industry exposed to unnecessary risks. This fact was revealed when a survey of office workers was taken in the UK. It further stated that the majority of employees are failing to take even the most basic measures to prevent the spread of computer viruses.

This survey was conducted by market research firm TNS on behalf of network systems provider Novell UK. They questioned 1,000 office workers across the UK. The results they found were alarming. The results stated, two thirds of the respondents admitted that they were unaware of even the most basic virus prevention measures. Perhaps even more alarmingly, 90% stated that they have no role to play in preventing the spread of viruses. They felt that it was the responsibility of their IT department, Microsoft or the government, and they had nothing to do with it.

It has become increasingly necessary that organizations should put in place system measures, like anti-virus scanners, to prevent the spread of viruses; Novell stated that reliance on these measures alone were never sufficient. They further quoted that end users must be made aware of their individual responsibilities, and educated about the proper management of e-mail and prevention of viruses spread through e-mail systems. For example, one of the most dreadful viruses, MyDoom, was spread via e-mail systems. Thus, it became vital that employees were aware of the role they must play in protecting network and information security.