12 Oct 2001
Sircam worm unlikely to hit hard
Nimda virus was Sircam's worst enemy, says Sophos
Anti-Virus
Sophos, a world leader in corporate anti-virus protection, today
responded to warnings in the media that the infamous Sircam worm could wipe
data from millions of computers on Tuesday.
The Sircam worm, which first appeared in July, has been
programmed with a 1 in 20 chance to delete all files on infected
computers' hard drives on October 16th. However, Sophos researchers
have found that because of a bug in the virus author's code this
payload is unlikely to activate. Since the Sircam worm emerged
businesses have also been hit hard by the fast-spreading Nimda virus which appeared
in September.
"Because the Nimda virus outbreak was so furious around the
world, most companies and individuals have now updated their
anti-virus protection," said Graham Cluley, senior technology
consultant for Sophos Anti-Virus. "In doing so they have also
ensured they are protected against Sircam. In many ways the author
of Sircam must be rueing the day Nimda was released."
Sophos notes that despite Sircam additionally being programmed
with a 1 in 50 payload of filling up hard drives with a junk
message about Mexico on ANY day of the year, very few customers
have reported this happening on their computer.
Sophos originally issued protection against the Sircam worm on
July 18 2001. Sophos recommends users follow safe computing
guidelines and ensure their anti-virus software is kept up to
date.
About Sophos
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.