Sasser keeps squirming into homes, businesses

TalkBack 18 of 21:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

M$ Sasser Worm crashes UK Coastguard computers

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=518242

Worm crashes Coastguard computers

By Charles Arthur, Technology Editor
05 May 2004

Computers at the Coastguard Agency were among millions of PCs hit yesterday by a new worm that spreads over the internet.

The Sasser worm, which exploits a flaw in Microsoft's Windows software, disrupted work at the Marine and Coastguard Agency, forcing staff to use pencil and paper to find ships and locate distress calls on maps.

The worm, which appeared over the weekend, began spreading rapidly yesterday as people returned from the bank holiday and brought laptops that had been infected while surfing the internet, or turned on vulnerable machines inside offices.

Analysts believe Sasser could be as damaging as the Blaster worm that spread worldwide last August, infecting an estimated eight million computers and costing businesses billions of pounds.

Henry Purbrick, watch assistant at the Falmouth Coastguard, said the worm meant they could not use their computer system. "Luckily we can still use telephones and radios. It just means we have to rely on paper and pens," he said.

Anyone with an infected machine should visit Microsoft's website to download a software "patch" to fix their system.

==========================================

Boy oh boy, the Brits are havin' fun with M$ crapware, judging from this breathless endorsement.

Wonder how many Dept. of Homeland [In]Security computers were similarly compromised?

Micro$hat's "Secure Computing Idiocy" and "Lower TCO, you bet!" programs are just too much, eh?

Posted by: dicktaurus@...   Posted on: 05/05/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Virtualization: Architectural Considerations And Other Evaluation Criteria VMware Of the many approaches to x86 systems virtualization available in the ... Download Now
• The Impact of Virtualization Software on Operating Environments VMware Today's use of virtualization technology allows IT professionals to ... Download Now
• The True Costs of Virtual Server Solutions VMware In an economic environment that is repeatedly heralding the message "do ... Download Now