Virus infects computers at county council

Friday 1st May 2009, 12:13AM BST.

Two viruses have struck at Powys County Council, infecting its computer network. The authority said the bugs had been an “inconvenience” but no vital data had been lost.

Council officials said 500 virus-related calls were logged with the authority’s IT department and no source had yet been identified.

The viruses have affected personal computers and laptops used by council workers throughout the county.

Councillor Sarah Millington said her council laptop had been running slower than normal.

She said: “It has been running a lot slower than normal this week, but I don’t think I was as badly affected as some.

“I heard that some people’s computers came to a virtual stop for portions of the week, but they were soon up and running again.”

The council said the virus had not stopped workers from carrying out their duties as normal.

It is believed programmes affected included Microsoft Word, Excel and Adobe Flash.

John Evans, communications manager, said: “We can confirm that the council’s computer network was attacked by two viruses last week.

“These have now been successfully contained and the council’s IT staff are now working to ensure its systems are returned to their full working capacity. No crucial data has been lost because of this virus.

“Staff have been able to access e-mails and other corporate IT systems and have continued to carry out the majority of their work duties.”

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