Trojans that encrypt users' files are becoming so complicated that security vendors will not be able to do anything about them, a report from Kaspersky Lab says. The report, Malware Evolution: April - June 2006, Hidden Wars, notes the rapid evolution of the public key encryption...

He also emphasized the critical importance of backup. He believes that most companies cannot recover from backup at short notice, and that when they try, they invariably fail. Many companies diligently backup for years, then a key worker leaves and the process stalls. Mr. Margeson recalls a Canadian cable company that approached CBL to recover $20-million worth of billing data that had been uploaded to a single drive and then distributed to systems that failed. In the process of trying to recover the data, it was inadvertently overwritten.

Mr. Margeson advises companies -- most of his clients are SMBs -- to employ up-to-date anti-virus software and to treat backup with respect. "Don't relegate it to a 2 a.m. mystery function in the basement," he adds. "Make it a real and vital part of your IT philosophy, and do regular fire drills to ensure that you can recover if the need urgently arises. Don't assume."