DATE=5/10/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=LOVE BUG COMPUTER VIRUS
NUMBER=5-46289
BYLINE=DAVID MCALARY
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
INTERNET=

VOICED AT:


INTRO:  Computer security experts warn that computer 
viruses like the so-called "Love Bug" from the 
Philippines are spreading faster and becoming more 
damaging each year.  As Science Correspondent David 
McAlary tells us, private and public organizations are 
not doing enough to protect themselves from Internet 
attacks, although the tools and practices to do so 
exist.

TEXT:  Technical experts testifying to the U-S House 
of Representatives science committee say the "Love 
Bug" virus circulated through e-mail worldwide on the 
same day of its dissemination on May fourth.  Keith 
Rhodes of the General Accounting Office - the 
investigating arm of Congress - points out the virus 
forced businesses, government agencies, schools, the 
International Monetary Fund, and Britain's Parliament 
to shut down their computer networks for protection 
and repair.

            /// RHODES ACT ///

      It shows again that computer attack tools and 
      techniques are becoming increasingly 
      sophisticated.  Viruses are spreading faster as 
      a result of the increasing connectivity of 
      today's networks and there is no silver bullet 
      (single) solution to protecting systems.  No one 
      thing is going to solve the problem.

            /// END ACT ///

The impact of the Love Bug virus was breathtaking.  It 
was the fastest spreading and the most expensive in 
history.  Peter Tippett - chief technology official of 
I-C-S-A-dot-net, a company that provides services to 
computer security firms - says the Love Bug continued 
a long trend.  In the first half of the 1990's, 
leading viruses took three-years to spread and cost 
just 50-million dollars combined.  Mr. Tippett says 
each new one since has been speedier and costlier.

            /// TIPPETT ACT ///

      Last Thursday, the Love Bug virus was the 
      number-one virus and it took about four-hours to 
      go from birth to the number-one spot.  We are 
      currently projecting about 950-million dollars 
      of damage in North American businesses due to 
      the Love Bug virus.

            /// END ACT ///

A California research firm called Computer Economics 
estimates the global cost of the virus to be nearly 
seven-billion dollars.

The experts told Congress that computer users are 
largely to blame for their vulnerability to such 
Internet attacks.  The General Accounting Office's 
Keith Rhodes puts it this way.

            /// RHODES ACT ///

      The world is not practicing safe computing.

            /// END ACT ///

Sandra England of the McAfee company - which produces 
anti-computer virus software - says the Love Bug virus 
caught many organizations unprepared, despite the 
disruption they suffered by a virus last year called 
Melissa.

            /// ENGLAND ACT ///

      There are tools to protect systems from these 
      attacks.  With the outbreak of Melissa last 
      year, one would think that organizations would 
      have taken virus threats seriously.  However, 
      many organizations still have not changed their 
      practices and their internal policies to respond 
      to new virus threats.

            /// END ACT ///

Ms. England suggests one reason for this is that the 
damage is intangible, not physical.  Furthermore, she 
says implementing adequate virus protection is 
expensive.

Yet Harris Miller - president of the Information 
Technology Association of America - says protection is 
vital because Internet assaults by computer hackers 
will not stop.

            /// MILLER ACT ///

      There is a subculture out there that is actively 
      plotting its next move.  The Love Bug can be 
      seen as an evolutionary link in the hacking
      chain.

            /// END ACT ///

Mr. Miller and the other experts say the solution is 
to educate managers, employees, and the home computer 
user about the threat and how to assess risks.  They 
say the education should include information about 
using anti-virus technology and controls on several 
levels - from organization-wide down to the individual 
desktop computer.  The experts also say the 
effectiveness of these practices should be routinely 
tested.

Mr. Miller says competing companies usually reluctant 
to share information must collaborate on computer 
security issues.  He notes that his Information 
Technology Association of America is developing 
mechanisms to do this.  He also says his organization 
is hosting the first global computer security summit 
involving experts from many nations next October in 
Washington.

            /// MILLER ACT ///

      This bug originated outside the United States.  
      It appears in the Philippines.  So we must have 
      a global approach to meeting these challenges.

            /// END ACT ///

(SIGNED)

NEB/DEM/RAE 



10-May-2000 13:24 PM EDT (10-May-2000 1724 UTC)
NNNN

Source: Voice of America
.