Rave Communications Assists FBI With Investigation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS - August 30, 2003 - The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently enlisted Rave Communications to assist with their investigation of the "SoBig" computer virus. The "SoBig" virus spreads through e-mail, and will update itself for a newer version of the virus from 20 "master servers" located around the globe. Rave Communications responded to an alert from the FBI that a computer belonging to a central Illinois company was acting as one of the virus' master servers. Rave Communications worked closely with this central Illinois company to stop network traffic to the infected computer and to discover the identity of the person responsible for creating the virus and turning their computer into a virus master server.

Ed Thomson, Director of Technical Operations for Rave Communications, managed the investigation of the master server. Thomson said the author of the virus himself is likely responsible for compromising this company's computer and turning it into a master server, effectively making it a major vector in the spread of the virus. It's likely that any evidence discovered by Rave Communications will have a significant effect on prosecuting the writer of the virus.

Ed Thomson has assisted the FBI with computer crime investigations before, often working with private companies who have had their computers compromised or "taken-over" by malicious hackers. His most notable work with the FBI was assisting in tracking down a multinational ring of hackers who compromised one of his clients.

"The goal," Thomson said, "is to eliminate the intruders, discover what they've been able to access or alter and then to make sure such a security breach can't reoccur. Typically, this involves training our clients on proper security protocol."

Rave Communications strongly suggests that all computer users install anti-virus software and keep the virus definition updated regularly. For home users, Ed Thomson recommends AVG Anti-Virus, which he said is "an excellent piece of software which is available for free to home or non-commercial users."

Rave Communications is a provider of network management and security services. You can visit http://www.ravecomm.com/ or call 217-378-5042 for more information.

Rave Communications
201 W Springfield Ave #706
Champaign, IL 61820
Telephone: 217-378-5042

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