Gibe-F reaches top spot by playing on security fears
This is the latest in a series of monthly charts counting down
the ten most frequently reported viruses and hoaxes as compiled by
Sophos, a global leader in anti-virus and anti-spam protection for
businesses.
For September 2003, the chart is as follows, with the most
frequently occurring virus at number one:
"With recent high profile virus outbreaks, people have become
more security conscious. But Gibe-F, which shot to pole position
this month, has shown that computer users' fears can play right
into the hands of crafty virus writers," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant at Sophos Anti-Virus. "Gibe-F poses as an
email from Microsoft support, offering security patches. Computer
users should remember that Microsoft does not and would not send
out emails of this nature."
"The fact that all four of last month's big hitters - Sobig-F,
Blaster, Mimail and Nachi - are still in the top ten, despite
extensive media coverage, is also worrying. It means some people
are still either ignoring calls to patch or are still oblivious to
the threat," continued Cluley.
Sophos analysed and protected against 715 new viruses in
September. The total number it now protects against is 84,992.
The top ten hoaxes reported to Sophos during September are as
follows:
"Perhaps unsurprisingly, this month saw a move up the chart for
the September 11 themed 'WTC Survivor' hoax. Whilst last month it
only accounted for 7.9% of hoax enquiries, in September it
generated almost 15% of reports," said Cluley. "Hoaxes which relate
to a specific occasion often experience a rise in popularity around
the time of the event. Hopefully, two years on, people will now
realise this is a hoax."
Sophos has made available a free, constantly updated
information feed for intranets and
websites which means users can always find out about the latest
viruses and hoaxes.
Graphics of the virus top ten chart are available here.
More information about safe computing,
including anti-hoax policies.
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.