Acronis Recommends IT Managers, End Users Maintain Current Backup Images of Their Hard Disks in Case Disaster Hits

Kama Sutra Worm Due to Hit Feb 3;
Other Disasters Could Hit at Any Time

January 31, 2006, BURLINGTON, MA - Acronis Inc. (www.acronis.com/en-eu/), the technological leader in storage management software, warned corporate and end-users alike to make a disk image of all servers and workstation hard disk in case their systems are compromised by the Kama Sutra Worm. The worm is due to hit Friday, Feb. 3, 2006.

The worm has the potential to wipe out user data and significantly compromise corporate servers, warn the antispyware security experts at Acronis. The company's security team recommends that users have not only a current backup image of their hard disk, but also up-to-date antispyware and antivirus software. According to published reports, the worm could have subject lines that read "the best videoclip ever", "give me a kiss", or "school girl fantasies gone bad". The worm is expected to be embedded in an attachment sent with the email message.

According to CIO Today, "on the third of each month, the worm will attempt to disable existing antivirus and firewall software and also will delete specific files, such as Microsoft Office documents".

"The best defense against any such malware attack is simply not to open mail attachments from senders you do not know", said Acronis marketing director Stephen Lawton. "However, IT managers and users can put policies in place so that they are protected should a computer become infected. We strongly recommend that all users create an image of their computer systems before the damage is done and keep those images up to date by regularly backing up their systems. That way, if your system is damaged by a virus or other disaster, you will be able to restore the system to a known, working condition in minutes, not hours or days".

"Creating just a file-based backup isn't enough. For example, if this worm crashes the hard disk, the user will need to restore the entire system to exactly how it was before the system was corrupted", he continued. "While having backups of user documents is helpful, the real time-consuming part of recovering from a systems failure is reinstalling the operating system and applications, installing all of the necessary registration codes, and reconfiguring the software and network settings".

"Jumping on the bandwagon of the latest disaster - be it Hurricane Katrina or a malicious malware attack, is not the right approach to disaster recovery", said Walter Scott, CEO of Acronis. "A calm, reasoned, policy-based approach that covers all possible threats is what is needed to ensure that a company's corporate servers and workstations are protected. Planning is a profitable and necessary exercise that, in many cases, can prevent or mitigate damage from a potential catastrophic event".

Acronis is the developer of such award-winning products as the Acronis True Image family of disk imaging, backup and disaster recovery software, and the Acronis Privacy Expert family of corporate and consumer antispyware products. Acronis has been protecting servers and workstations since 2000. Details on Acronis' corporate disaster recovery products can be found at http://www.acronis.eu/enterprise/products/choose-trueimage/.