Quick-acting computer administrators helped prevent a widespread virus from disrupting most federal agencies' e-mail systems, agencies reported last week.
The "Melissa" virus appeared on the Internet on Friday, Mar. 26, spreading rapidly throughout both government and non-government e-mail systems. The virus is transported via e-mail as an attached Word document. When a computer user opens the document, the virus infects the user's Word program and then sends out copies of the virus-infected Word document to the first 50 people listed in the user's e-mail address book.
Many agencies' computer systems administrators learned of the virus on Mar. 26 or the following day, and worked over the weekend to reduce its effects on agency systems, said Keith Thurston, assistant to the deputy associate administrator in the General Services Administration's Information Technology Office.
"The government's performance showed out very well," Thurston said, adding that agencies' weekend work minimized the negative impact the virus had on e-mail systems.
Systems administrators installed filters and anti-virus software updates to catch Melissa before it could spread further. Through Wednesday of last week, GSA had caught 45 copies of e-mails containing the virus. The Office of Personnel Management reported only one occurrence of the virus, but because OPM does not use Microsoft's Outlook e-mail program, the virus would not have been able to propagate itself.
The Veterans Affairs Department intercepted more than 6,000 copies of Melissa-infected e-mails. The National Science Foundation caught 40 copies.
Melissa Bohan, spokeswoman for the Joint Task Force on Computer Network Defense, also reported that the Defense Department responded rapidly to the virus threat.
Army and Air Force systems administrators temporarily took down their e-mail servers over the weekend of Mar. 27 to delete virus-carrying messages and install filters, Bohan said. The Marine Corps kept its external e-mail systems down through part of last week to make sure the virus would not spread. Bohan said the military services and Defense agencies issued advisories to employees warning them of the virus. DoD employees could also download copies of anti-virus software from the Joint Task Force's Web site at www.ditco.disa.mil/asp/ncr/dodav97.asp.
Federal and state officials arrested a suspect in New Jersey on Thursday night and charged him with originating the Melissa virus. David L. Smith of Aberdeen, N.J., was charged with interfering with the public communication, which carries a sentence of five to 10 years in prison and a maximum $150,000 fine.
A computer task force of federal and state agents helped locate the suspect.
NEXT STORY: Keep hoops alive