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Finance industry faces serious IT security issues

23rd June 2008 The finance industry needs to keep its eye on the small change as well as the bigger picture of its security vulnerabilities Read More

Retail sector faces serious IT security issues

23rd June 2008 The retail sector needs to set out its stall and ring the changes in its security vulnerabilities if it is to avoid the potential for hackers to gain unauthorised system access and disrupt service availability Read More

IT managers have more security headaches to deal with

11th May 2008 NTA Monitor's 2008 Annual Security Report has revealed that the average number of vulnerabilities found per test have increased to 21 compared with 19 in 2007 Read More

Solutions not excuses for patch management warns NTA Monitor

23rd April 2008 Patch management is a vital security requirement for any organsation Read More
Date: 3rd July 2006
Risk: Low

As highlighted in June's Internet Security News, a nasty piece of ransomware has been circulating. The first UK target was identified at the beginning of June and it's thought that she contracted the virus by clicking on a link on the Internet that said her computer had been infected by an unknown virus.

The Archiveus virus password-protects all files found on My Computer and the password is only provided if a victim buys drugs from one of three online pharmacies. Poor programming has enabled security experts to obtain the password and unlock victims' PCs without succumbing to the ransom demands.

Although the virus doesn't seem to be widespread, it should be emphasised that clicking on unfamiliar hyperlinks should be avoided wherever possible.

References