A man has been arrested in New Jersey and charged with spreading the computer virus, Melissa, that has wreaked havoc in thousands of companies and Government agencies around the world. It is alleged that thirty-year-old David Smith, a computer programmer, sent out the virus from a computer in his apartment. He will be brought before a Court on Monday and could face up to forty years in jail.
The virus affects electronic mail systems known as email. According to the Dun Laoghaire-based data Protection company Priority Data Group, more than twenty large companies and Government organisations in Ireland have been affected by the virus. One large organisation here had to completely shut down its email system after its network became infected.
