"Virus writers are getting smarter and, based on history, I think IT managers globally should prepare themselves and their staff for another major hit," said Vinny Gullotto, head of the antivirus emergency response team for viral security experts McAfee.
Gullotto added that viruses are getting more complex. Naked Wife inserts the name of the previous recipient into the body of infectious emails, making the messages appear authentic. Peer-to-peer environments could be particularly vulnerable owing to the massive amount of file exchanging that can occur.
Dr David Audrey-Jones, head of security strategy for IT consultant KPMG, said, "Companies are finding it hard to keep up with issues and technologies. Internal staff often don't understand the importance of security and there is a shortage of people who do and are able to manage security systems."
The seriousness of virus outbreaks was first highlighted by 1999's Melissa outbreak. Last year's Love Letter virus alone cost an estimated US$7bn to businesses worldwide.
Gullotto reaffirmed that IT managers need to remind staff to alert IT departments of suspicious attachments, and that companies should look again at their employee policies to make sure there is a directive against opening suspicious or non-official attachments. "The speed with which Naked Wife was cleaned up showed that the message is getting through," Gullotto added.
