Kama Sutra Worm Due to Hit Feb 3;
Other Disasters Could Hit at Any Time
January 31, 2006, BURLINGTON, MA -
Acronis Inc. (https://www.acronis.com), 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 https://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/choose-trueimage/.
About Acronis:
Acronis is a leader in AI-native cyber protection, unifying data protection, cybersecurity, IT operations and hybrid infrastructure to deliver business continuity, security and compliance with less cost and complexity. More than 21,000 service providers trust Acronis to protect over 750,000 businesses in 150 countries. Acronis is headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. For more information, visit www.acronis.com.