Taking your work home with you isn't such a good idea anymore in Japan
A computer worm called Antinny is working its way through Japanese computers and shows no sign of slowing. The worm which attaches itself to computers using Winny file-sharing software (the Japanese equivalent to Napster) is spreading rapidly.
Many Japanese carry their work home with them, so work-related information often mingles with their home PCs which contain Winny software. As a result, security traders, doctors and even law enforcement officers are finding out the hard way what happens when Antinny invades a PC.
The list of betrayed secrets is long and getting longer: personal details of 10,000 prisoners from a Kyoto prison officer's computer; information about crime victims, informants and statements from suspects uploaded from a policeman's home computer; access codes to 29 airports from an airline pilot's PC; and the details of surgical procedures on 2,800 patients at a private hospital from the computer of a clerk. All have found their way onto the Internet.
The origins and author of the virus are still not known even though variants of the virus have been around for a few years. The Japanese military has responded to the threat by ordering all personnel to ditch Winny software on personal computers and refrain from bringing sensitive materials home with them. Considering that Japan's Self Defense Forces were probably the hardest hit by Antinny, this should come as no surprise:
Perhaps most embarrassing have been the leaks from Japan's Self-Defense Forces, including data on surface-to-air missile tests and details of "Battle Scenario Training" for a simulated crisis on a transparently code-named "K Peninsula."
A computer worm called Antinny is working its way through Japanese computers and shows no sign of slowing. The worm which attaches itself to computers using Winny file-sharing software (the Japanese equivalent to Napster) is spreading rapidly.
Many Japanese carry their work home with them, so work-related information often mingles with their home PCs which contain Winny software. As a result, security traders, doctors and even law enforcement officers are finding out the hard way what happens when Antinny invades a PC.
The list of betrayed secrets is long and getting longer: personal details of 10,000 prisoners from a Kyoto prison officer's computer; information about crime victims, informants and statements from suspects uploaded from a policeman's home computer; access codes to 29 airports from an airline pilot's PC; and the details of surgical procedures on 2,800 patients at a private hospital from the computer of a clerk. All have found their way onto the Internet.
The origins and author of the virus are still not known even though variants of the virus have been around for a few years. The Japanese military has responded to the threat by ordering all personnel to ditch Winny software on personal computers and refrain from bringing sensitive materials home with them. Considering that Japan's Self Defense Forces were probably the hardest hit by Antinny, this should come as no surprise:
Perhaps most embarrassing have been the leaks from Japan's Self-Defense Forces, including data on surface-to-air missile tests and details of "Battle Scenario Training" for a simulated crisis on a transparently code-named "K Peninsula."