Year 2000 Virus Hype: Sophos Questions Mandatory E-Mail Shutdowns

As the world braced itself for the dawn of the year 2000, fear of Y2K viruses had reached a fever pitch. Amidst the heightened hysteria, several organizations had announced plans to shut down their e-mail servers to protect against the perceived threat. However, anti-virus specialist Sophos publicly questioned the policy, stating that the Year 2000 period was no different from any other day of the year in terms of virus infections. In a bold move, the company encouraged companies to practice safe computing and keep their anti-virus products up to date, rather than resorting to drastic measures like shutting down e-mail systems.

Key Takeaways:

• Sophos, an anti-virus specialist, questioned the policy of shutting down e-mail servers to protect against Year 2000 viruses.
• The company stated that there is no evidence to suggest that viruses will be any more of a problem on January 1 than any other day of the year.
• Sophos encourages companies to practice safe computing and keep their anti-virus products up to date, rather than shutting down e-mail systems.
• The company has published a paper, "Is there a Y2K virus problem?", discussing the Y2K virus hype and hyperbole.
• Several organizations, including the Swiss Federal Government, had announced plans to shut down their e-mail servers for the year's end.
• Some banks in South Africa had already shut down their e-mail connections, stating they would not resurface until January 5.

Statistics:

• Sophos reportedly said that viruses infect companies every single day of the year.
• Companies like the Swiss Federal Government planned to shut down their e-mail servers for 3-4 days over the year's end.
• Some banks in South Africa had shut down their e-mail connections, intending to keep them down until January 5.

Sources:

• "Sophos," http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/whitepapers/Y2K.html.
• "Newsbytes.com," http://www.newsbytes.com.
• Reported by Newsbytes.com (19991227) with source credited as: Press Contact: Tom Beston, Johnson King PR +44-171-357-7799; Graham Cluley, Sophos +44-1235-559933