Follow The Virus Cost Urban Myth

from the once-it's-out-there,-it's-out-there dept

We've all heard stories of some company or organization coming up with a number for something that gets reported somewhere and becomes quoted as fact. Remember that internet usage was doubling every 90 to 100 days? Jeremy Wagstaff has written up a nice summary of how a made up quote about the cost of virus damage in 2003 is spreading around the world. It's a little unclear how it all started, but it appears that someone from Trend Micro came up with the number - but the company now denies they would or could come up with such a number. However, Reuters ran an article that quotes someone from Trend Micro with the number - and despite the supposed retraction from Trend Micro, the story (and the number) live on in many places. Trend Micro doesn't seem to mind this publicity - even if it's based on something they claim they never said. The interesting thing isn't so much the specifics, but how quickly such a "fact" can spread, and never be questioned online.

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