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Nuclear power station infected by Yankee virus
December 1993
Nuclear power station infected by Yankee virus Computer systems at the Sizewell B power station in Suffolk, UK have been affected by a computer virus called Yankee, according to a report in Computer Weekly. The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate has been alerted and a man has been dismissed for introducing unauthorized software as a result of the incident. Nuclear Electric, Sizewell's operator, said however, that the virus had been eliminated and that it had not infected the station's critical primary protection system (PPS). Sizewell B is the first power station in the world to rely on computer systems for its PPS, which shuts the facility down in the event of an emergency. Nuclear Electric said that the virus was discovered when a PC played Yankee Doodle Dandy, the virus's theme tune. Yankee is relatively 'benign', as it apparently does not corrupt data. It does, however, take time, effort and money to eradicate. Yankee attaches itself to .com and .exe files and is activated when the PC's clock reaches 5 pm or when CtrI-AIt-Delete are pressed to reboot the computer. Staff with portable computers at Sizewell now have to undergo spot checks and can be dismissed if they do not use virus scanners on their equipment.
ComputerAudit Update
John Nosely national purchasing manager for IT and telecommunications at NHS Supplies said: "Our knowledge and expertise in the complex field of European Community and public-sector purchasing regulations protects our customers from the consequences of poorly drafted contracts." 14 suppliers, including Lotus Development and Microsoft have responded to the invitation to tender. Lotus and Microsoft have introduced schemes offering discounts of up to 70% in return for high volume sales.
EEMA sets up data security committee The European Electronic Messaging Association, which represents over 180 corporate members throughout Europe, has formed a Security Working Group to produce an in-depth report on the current needs for information security in electronic messaging. The group is to be chaired by Chris Napier of ICL. Commenting on the purpose of the study, Roger Dean, EEMA's executive director said: "the final results of this survey should help us determine whether there is a real or perceived gap between what the users say they want in terms of security and what the market and technology provides. We will then be in a position to draw up objectives based on these findings and act accordingly." The report is due for release in mid-December.
NHS centralizes software purchasing The UK National Health Service aims to make savings of £3 million within the next year and a half by centralizing PC s o f t w a r e procurement, according to a report in Computing. Software purchasing is to be handled by NHS Supplies, which will be r e s p o n s i b l e for negotiating national bulk deals with PC software manufacturers and dealers. NHS Supplies expects contracts to be in place by February 1994 and claimed that even the smallest sites will be able to benefit from the new arrangements.
@1993 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd
In the future, the group also intends to look at issues such as digital signatures for EDI and X.400, message exchanges as well as X.500 directories. "Over the coming weeks we will be looking at the legal implications of cross-border message exchange," said Leslie Seymour, a member of the working group. "For example, we need to establish a management facility for digital s i g n a t u r e s within e l e c t r o n i c m e s s a g i n g operations, while looking carefully at the lack of security support in the 1988 X.400 packages."
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Nuclear power station infected by Yankee virus Computer systems at the Sizewell B power station in Suffolk, UK have been affected by a computer virus called Yankee, according to a report in Computer Weekly. The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate has been alerted and a man has been dismissed for introducing unauthorized software as a result of the incident. Nuclear Electric, Sizewell's operator, said however, that the virus had been eliminated and that it had not infected the station's critical primary protection system (PPS). Sizewell B is the first power station in the world to rely on computer systems for its PPS, which shuts the facility down in the event of an emergency. Nuclear Electric said that the virus was discovered when a PC played Yankee Doodle Dandy, the virus's theme tune. Yankee is relatively 'benign', as it apparently does not corrupt data. It does, however, take time, effort and money to eradicate. Yankee attaches itself to .com and .exe files and is activated when the PC's clock reaches 5 pm or when CtrI-AIt-Delete are pressed to reboot the computer. Staff with portable computers at Sizewell now have to undergo spot checks and can be dismissed if they do not use virus scanners on their equipment.
ComputerAudit Update
John Nosely national purchasing manager for IT and telecommunications at NHS Supplies said: "Our knowledge and expertise in the complex field of European Community and public-sector purchasing regulations protects our customers from the consequences of poorly drafted contracts." 14 suppliers, including Lotus Development and Microsoft have responded to the invitation to tender. Lotus and Microsoft have introduced schemes offering discounts of up to 70% in return for high volume sales.
EEMA sets up data security committee The European Electronic Messaging Association, which represents over 180 corporate members throughout Europe, has formed a Security Working Group to produce an in-depth report on the current needs for information security in electronic messaging. The group is to be chaired by Chris Napier of ICL. Commenting on the purpose of the study, Roger Dean, EEMA's executive director said: "the final results of this survey should help us determine whether there is a real or perceived gap between what the users say they want in terms of security and what the market and technology provides. We will then be in a position to draw up objectives based on these findings and act accordingly." The report is due for release in mid-December.
NHS centralizes software purchasing The UK National Health Service aims to make savings of £3 million within the next year and a half by centralizing PC s o f t w a r e procurement, according to a report in Computing. Software purchasing is to be handled by NHS Supplies, which will be r e s p o n s i b l e for negotiating national bulk deals with PC software manufacturers and dealers. NHS Supplies expects contracts to be in place by February 1994 and claimed that even the smallest sites will be able to benefit from the new arrangements.
@1993 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd
In the future, the group also intends to look at issues such as digital signatures for EDI and X.400, message exchanges as well as X.500 directories. "Over the coming weeks we will be looking at the legal implications of cross-border message exchange," said Leslie Seymour, a member of the working group. "For example, we need to establish a management facility for digital s i g n a t u r e s within e l e c t r o n i c m e s s a g i n g operations, while looking carefully at the lack of security support in the 1988 X.400 packages."
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