21 Oct 2003
China crisis: computer viruses rampant says survey
A survey conducted by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security
shows that approximately 85% of computers in the country were
infected with a virus this year.
The official figures reflect the huge popularity of the internet
in China, with in excess of 68 million surfers, as more and more
viruses spread themselves via email and the internet. This is in
spite of many viruses continuing to tempt users to double-click on
their attachments using English language.
According to the report, as many as a third of China's computers
may have been hit by the W32/Sobig-F worm, which
struck in August
"Computer viruses are oblivious to national boundaries," said
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Wherever
you are in the world, you should ensure your computer is running
the latest anti-virus protection, and is properly protected by
security patches and a robust firewall. Connecting yourself to the
internet anywhere in the world may be opening you up to attack, so
always remain security-savvy."
Sophos is doing its part to increase user education about
security threats in China. This week it is exhibiting at the
Infosecurity China show in Beijing, sharing information about safe
computing and how businesses can best protect themselves from virus
attack.
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.