NATION : Computer Virus Called Costly

A computer security specialist estimated today that there have been up to hundreds of thousands of computer virus attacks against American corporations and the government in recent years.

Carolyn Conn, an official of the EDP Auditors Assn., told a House panel that the majority of incidents go unreported “because there is not a high expectation of successful prosecution.” Also, she said, “organizations do not want to publicize their vulnerabilities when seemingly there is little or no benefit” from public disclosure.

“The costs are staggering,” Conn told the House Judiciary subcommittee on criminal justice. “Viruses have cost corporations, government agencies and educational institutions millions of dollars to prevent, detect and recover from computer virus attacks.”