FBI Reports New Computer Virus
A new and dangerous computer virus is spreading through e-mail systems using Microsoft Outlook, the FBI said Friday night.
Anti-virus industry sources were reporting that a number of corporate e-mail systems had already been infected, and some shut down, the FBI’s National Infrastructure Protection Center said.
The virus is carried in e-mail with the subject “Resume--Janet Simons” and once opened, spreads itself to everyone in a user’s e-mail address book. It also attempts to delete a number of files on the user’s system.
The FBI advised computer users not to open any e-mail with this subject line, to deactivate the executive summary feature in Microsoft Outlook, and then delete the e-mail without opening it.
The anti-virus industry was working on software patches to stop the virus and would post them on their Web sites for downloading, the FBI said.
The warning said the upcoming holiday weekend could allow the virus to spread over the next three days with a potentially rapid surge in activity as businesses open overseas on Monday and in the United States on Tuesday.
The Symantec AntiVirus Research Center, based in Cupertino, Calif., said the virus was an “extremely fast-spreading computer worm that uses Microsoft Outlook to e-mail itself as an attachment.”
Symantec said the e-mail message containing the virus reads:
“To Director of Sales/Marketing,
Attached is my resume with a list of references contained within. Please feel free to call or e-mail me if you have any further questions regarding my experience. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Janet Simons.”
Earlier this month, the spread of a computer virus that could have done more damage than the “Love Bug” was slowed by U.S. companies that had strengthened their defenses against attacks from the Internet.
The virus, dubbed “NewLove,” infected thousands of computers around the world, but failed to become an epidemic like the Love Bug that reached millions three weeks ago.
Safeguards put in place on corporate e-mail systems against the earlier virus stopped NewLove’s spread.
The FBI said the virus shared some characteristics with the Love Bug and have launched a search for the creator.
The Love Bug arrived in e-mails with an “ILOVEYOU” subject line that enticed millions of recipients to open the attachment that activated the virus. Once news spread of the threat, infected e-mails were easily detected and deleted.
Estimates of the damage caused by that virus range up to $10 billion, mostly in lost work time.
