Sober-N worm now seen in over 40 countries

[Gareth]

source: http://itvibe.com/news/3508/

We reported yesterday morning on a fast spreading virus called Sober-N which was bombarding email servers around the world, accounting for almost 2 in every 3 virus infected emails travelling across the Internet.

Experts at Sophos advise us now that the W32/Sober-N worm has been attempting to break into computer systems in over 40 different countries, and shows no signs of slowing down.

Since the worm first emerged late on Monday, it has dominated the chart of most commonly encountered viruses. It is currently accounting for 79% of all viruses seen by Sophos' monitoring stations around the world. Sophos experts calculate that the worm is now accounting for an astonishing 4.5% of all email traffic (legitimate or otherwise) sent across the Internet.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos said,

"1 in every 22 emails sent across the Internet is currently infected by the Sober-N worm - making this one of the biggest virus outbreaks of the year. All Internet users must secure their systems with up-to-date anti-virus software and ensure that they never open unsolicited email attachments. No-one should be fooled into thinking that email viruses are a thing of the past. In particular, this worm appears to have caused problems by posing as an offer of free tickets for the soccer World Cup tournament in Germany next year. Many people found the prospect of free tickets to the prestigious sporting event just too hard to resist."