cliff%cfa253@harvard.harvard.edu (Cliff Stoll) (06/13/89)
From NATURE magazine, volume 338, page 530,13 April 1989 Reported by K. S. Jayarman PAKISTANI VIRUS INVADES INDIAN NEIGHBOR 'C-Bran', a computer virus of Pakistani origin, has hit personal computers throughout India in what is thought to be the first epidemic of its kind in the nation. The incident highlights India's extensive trade in pirated software and copied floppy disks. In just four weeks, "C-BRAN" showed up in comptuer schools and a private company in Bangalore and in somee 20 companies in Bombay, including an international bank. The virus was also reported from Madras, Kanpur and Vijayawada, a small town where 750 of 1000 floppy disks used by a private company were found to be infected. Scientists at the Delhi University Computer Centre said their machines were invaded by the 'ashar' variant of the virus. Dr. N.C. Kalra of the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, who detected 'ashar' in the institute's computer, blamed the epidemic on pirated software. No virus has yet shown up in computers linked by electronic networks but government agencies have been alerted. India's NICNET links the Cybercomputer mainframe computer in the Planniing Commission with portable computers in district headquarters while another network, ERNET links the computer centres of eight educational enstitutions. The six major commercial comptuer networks all claim to have strengthened their security system following the epidemic. Submitted by Cliff Stoll 12 June 89 Cliff@cfa200.harvard.edu