October 7th 2004:
ramsac, a leading IT solutions provider, is warning companies to prepare for the latest Internet virus threat…infected Internet images. The warning comes after the first computer virus to be found inside a digital image was uncovered on a pornographic website last month.
Already being dubbed ‘JPEGs of death’, the infected images contain malicious code that can damage machines, send out bulk e-mails and even allow external hackers to take over PCs and networks. The virus is activated when someone tries to view a page containing the image through Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web browser – used by approximately 94% of all Internet users worldwide.
“IT consultants have been warning about this new breed of virus for some time,” says Robert May, Managing Director of ramsac. “Companies and individuals have sufficient anti-virus protection in place for current viral threats but malicious imagery is a new danger, one that global business is massively under prepared for.”
Although only one infected image has been found so far, experts believe that it is only a matter of time before a more serious and widespread viral attack takes place.
Adds May: “As with any new technological discovery – good or bad – there will most likely be a period of ‘grace’ while the effectiveness and impact of the new discovery is assessed. Companies should update their anti-virus software immediately and look at implementing policies and procedures that minimize the risk of infection.”
Leading anti-virus software manufacturers have already updated their products to cover this particular virus, but May believes smaller companies will be badly affected when the first ‘serious’ attack is spread via infected image files.
Concludes May: “It is inevitable that one of the next major computer viruses will be spread by an infected image. As well as IT protection, staff need to be trained on Internet usage and if need be, policies should be introduced barring access to inappropriate websites. Most employees are already trained not to open attachments from unsolicited e-mails, it may be time to transfer this level of security to Internet usage.”
ramsac is offering companies worries about their anti-virus systems, a free IT security audit. For more information, please visit the website at www.ramsac.com