From: InfoSec News (isnC4I.ORG)
Date: Mon Jan 15 2001 - 01:12:46 CST

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http://www.timesofindia.com/150101/15info13.htm

15 January 2001

TOKYO: Reports of computer viruses tripled last year in Japan as the
increasingly networked nation felt the effects of the Love Bug and
other potent strains, a government study said.

Authorities logged a total of 11,109 reports of viruses being sent to
computers in Japan in 2000, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on
Saturday, citing a study by the government-affiliated Information
Technology Promotion Agency.

That was up from 3,645 reports the previous year and from just 14 in
1989, when such cases were first recorded.

Experts say the number may actually be higher, since only 10 per cent
of the reports came from individuals, who are less likely than
companies to have software capable of detecting viruses.

Viruses and other forms of cybercrime have concerned authorities in
Japan following a series of high-profile raids by unidentified hackers
on government-run Internet sites last year.

Though the current administration has made promoting the Internet one
of its top policy priorities, Japan has been criticised for not doing
enough to prevent abuse of the global computer network.

A law that made hacking a crime went into effect only last February.
Disseminating viruses is still not a crime in Japan, though officials
reportedly plan to close that legal loophole sometime this year.

The Love Bug, which caused billions of dollars in damages worldwide,
accounted for 1,221 - or about a tenth - of the virus cases recorded
in Japan last year, according to Saturday's report.

The Information Technology Promotion Agency could not be reached on
Saturday for further comment. (AP)

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