The 'Love Bug' virus, which swept across the world leaving the computer networks of government and business in chaos, has highlighted the vulnerability of many computer systems to attack. The Cybercrime Unit is part of ICC's London-based Commercial Crime Services, which is leading the global fight against maritime crime, counterfeiting and commercial fraud. According to the Cybercrime Unit, best practice requires more than the regular updating of the existing security systems. The Unit said it is important to involve individual users, promoting vigilance amongst staff and discouraging the use of the network for personal e-mails. Aled Miles, director of the anti-virus software company Symantec, said that the impact of the virus was exacerbated by lax security standards in many countries.
Many firewalls do offer fair protection against conventional hackers.
Good security blocks suspicious e-mails and alerts the network administrator before they are distributed to the individual users. Though anti-virus teams may have been quick to develop software fixes to minimize further damage and check the spread of the 'Love Bug' virus, nobody is suggesting that the bigger problem has yet been solved. Industry analysts point out that this latest virus, which follows the denial of service Internet assaults in February, demonstrates the reliance of the global economy on computers and their susceptibility to interference. It is likely that we will see more and more of this kind of attack in the future. There may be no way yet to guard completely against future security breaches.