BTopenwoe emails virus to customers

BadTrans hits telco - again

By John Leyden • Get more from this author

Posted in Security, 26th November 2001 15:53 GMT

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BTopenworld accidentally sent its customers emails carrying BadTrans-B, the latest Trojan horse virus this weekend.

Dozens of Register readers have written in to inform us they were sent a copy of the BadTrans-B from BTopenworld support, pointing to infection of an unknown numbers of PCs in the telco's consumer broadband division.

A spokesman for BTopenworld confirmed the outbreak and said it stopped sending emails, once it realised it had become infected. The company apologises to affected customers.

Computers involved in the system have been taken offline while a clean-up is carried out. Antivirus software is installed on all BT machines but the virus slipped through because the protection used wasn't up to date.

A BT spokesman acknowledged that customers will be particularly concerned about the outbreak because it comes only two months after BTopenworld was infected with a previous version of BadTrans.

He said BT would review its security procedures to prevent further virus outbreaks. ADSLguide.org have published a copy of a statement from BTopenworld on the problem.

The infection of BTopenworld's system by BadTrans-B is of particular concern because the mass mailing virus, which is spreading rapidly on the Internet today, contains a Trojan horse component.

More details on the virus and its spread are available here. ®