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Government Departments of New Zealand & Bulgaria Attack by Viruses

According to the media reports, government departments in Bulgaria have been attacked by PC virus infections in the first few days of January 2009. Consequently, it leads to closing of systems and disrupted work.

Some initial reports inform that virus infection first targeted the office of Sofia Police Directorate and later circulated to passport services offices and disturbed the work there. But the most disturbed thing happened at 12:00 noon of January 8, 2009, when some parts of the system had to close down because of the problem.

Minister Mihail Mikov, Bulgaria's Interior Ministry, states that these things have happened not only in Bulgaria, but in other countries also, as reported by bnn on January 9, 2009.

Some additional reports revealed that a computer virus has stopped the work in New Zealand Government Ministry too. It is believed that Ministry of Health in New Zealand has been troubled by a malware infection for almost a week (1st week of January 2009), compelling it to close down its mail system for some hours.

Security experts added that the details of both the cases are not completely out entirely, but they are the strong indicators that all organizations (big or small) should have proper safety to avoid attack from spyware, viruses and worms.

Moreover, it is important to note that the two disrupting virus infections were publicly disclosed at the same time, in the same organizations i.e. government departments on different sides of the world. But security experts added that it is still not clear whether the two cases are related or it is the same malware that has caused chaos.

Reports also suggested that it is not the first time virus infection has disrupted the work at ministry sites. In 2003, the electronic system of the US State Department for checking visa applicant for terrorist or a criminal failed for many hours because of a computer virus. It made the US Government unable to provide visas for some time.

Related article: Government Sways in Fresh Data Breach Scandal

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