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| Malware can leak sensitive information to other
internet users. |
Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global
network of virus and spam analysis centers, have reminded internet
users of the importance of computer security after media reports
revealed that sensitive police information has been leaked onto the
internet from a virus-infected computer.
According to the Japanese press, information about 1500
individuals, related to police investigations over a three year
period, was leaked from a virus-infected computer belonging to an
Okayama Police investigator. The data is said to have been
distributed to users of the Winny peer-to-peer file-sharing system.
Winny is the most popular file-sharing network in Japan, with over
a quarter of a million users.
According to the report, the leak occurred because the policeman
was storing data about investigations on his personal computer. The
PC was infected with an unnamed computer virus which is said to
have enabled Winny users across Japan to access the sensitive
information. The exposed data included the names of sex crime
victims.
"It's bad enough when an individual has data stolen from them by
a virus, but a police force being the victim is a real cause for
concern," said Graham
Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "This incident
acts as a timely reminder that all organizations need to take
computer security seriously. If you allow your employees to put
sensitive company data onto their own home computers, you are
running the risk that they will not be as well defended as the PCs
within your business."
Sophos recommends companies protect their email gateways,
desktops and servers with an automatically updated consolidated solution to defend against the
threats of viruses, spyware and spam.
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.