News Analysis  How avian flu could threaten IT security  Bill
Brenner, News Writer  Not all the viruses that threaten computer
networks come from cyberspace. Health and information security
experts say if avian flu ever becomes a human pandemic, it could
have a disastrous impact on IT infrastructures.  "In the event
of a widespread outbreak, the economic effects could be severe,
affecting just about every sector and region," said Sherry
Cooper, a global economic strategist for Canadian financial
services firm BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. The information security
community is as threatened as everyone else, said Cooper, who
last week issued a report (pdf) on the potential economic
ramifications of a global outbreak.  Forced destruction  Known
as H5N1, avian flu has killed at least 65 people in four Asian
countries since 2003. It has also killed or forced the
destruction of tens of millions of poultry.  Today, it's mainly
a bird killer and can't easily be passed between people. Those
infected so far have been poultry