‘Love Bug’ virus to cost businesses billions
May 12, 2008 
The cost of the ‘Love Bug’ virus attack to organisations across the world could spiral into billions of dollars, according to anti-virus experts.
The VBS/Loveletter.worm virus appeared in inboxes around the globe on Thursday, causing email servers to grind to a halt, and some files - including JPEGs and MP3s to be affected.
Kevin Street, technical director at Symantec, told silicon.com: "The bill could go into billions." He predicted that the indirect costs include productivity losses, time taken to rectify systems and the potential damage caused by functions of the virus which have not yet been confirmed. The virus triggers the mass sending of emails, which could run-up a "whacking bill" for companies that pay per email sent on leased lines, he added.
Last year’s major virus attacks, including those caused by Melissa and Explore.zip, caused an estimated $12.1bn worth of damage.
