Tech Shout!

Sophos has announced the top ten viruses and hoaxes that have been considered to be major threats and have caused problems to businesses around the world during the month of February 2006. Netsky-P tops the charts at the number one position once again after a gap of three months in the shadow of Sober-Z, programmed to stop spreading on 6 January 2006.

Netsky-P was first detected in March 2004 and has insistently destroyed unprotected users ever since.

Nyxem-D, dubbed the Kama Sutra worm, has gone up from fourth to second position, showing the success of its erotic disguise. Nyxem-D was first detected on 18 January and is still gathering momentum, accounting for 9.3% of this month’s reported malware. The email worm uses a variety of pornographic disguises in an attempt to spread and disable security software.

Sophos’ report claimed that Clagger-G, a Trojan horse, has broken into the chart this month, demonstrating that today’s financially motivated threats use a combination of malware and spam technology. Coming in at number eight, Clagger-G is a clear demonstration of mass spamming holding its own against self-spreading malware.

Carole Theriault, senior security consultant at Sophos said, “In order for this Clagger Trojan to make an appearance in the top ten, it must have been spammed out to millions and millions of email addresses worldwide.” Theriault added, “Trojan horses, which cannot spread on their own, account for roughly two-thirds of all reported malware. Rather than mass bombardment, most Trojan creators focus on small targeted groups to pilfer cash and sensitive information.”

Bagle-Zip has burst back into the chart at number three, while Bagle-CH, first detected on 7 February, has entered the chart at number seven.

Theriault said, “Businesses and individuals without computer protection in place are living in cloud-cuckoo-land, these worms can wreak havoc on a network, but are easily controlled if an effective security policy is in place.”

“The Olympic Torch hoax is plaguing users this month, riding on the back of worldwide fascination with the Winter Olympics,” said Theriault. “Many people have panicked when faced with this hoax because it warns users to be wary of emails with the subject line ‘Invitation’ - claiming that it is ‘the most destructive virus ever’. Not only do these emails gobble up bandwidth, they also waste time and genuinely cause some victims to worry unduly.”

Sophos’s research shows that 1.1% or one in 90 emails is viral. The company now identifies and protects against a total of 119,192 email threats, an increase of 1,132 from last month.

To check out the entire list of viruses and hoaxes click here.