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The attack targeted Mircrosoft database software
An attack by fast-spreading malicious code targeting computer servers has dramatically slowed internet traffic.
The attack - by what is known as a computer "worm" - has interfered with web browsing and e-mail delivery.
Computer experts said the slowdown on Saturday was similar to the impact of the "Code Red" virus, which brought internet traffic to a halt in the summer of 2001.
It is highly likely hackers have launched an all-out attack on the country's internet system
South Korean Information Ministry official
The malicious code targets servers that direct traffic on the internet and does not infect home computers.
In South Korea internet services were shut down nationwide for hours on Saturday, the country's Yonhap news agency reported.
Users and news media also reported outages or slowdowns in Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and India.
The malicious code exploits a vulnerability in database software from Microsoft, called the SQL Server, which was first identified in July 2002.
Companies need to take applying patches against new security threats seriously
Graham Cluley
Expert at anti-virus company Sophos
The code instructs the server to go into an endless loop, tricking it into thinking it is getting traffic all the time when in fact it is not, BBC News Online technology reporter Alfred Hermida says.
Unlike viruses, the worm exists only in memory, so it cannot be detected by traditional anti-virus scanners.
The malicious code - which is only 376 bytes in size - started to significantly attack the web at about 0530 GMT on Saturday.
Full story here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2693925.stm
An attack by fast-spreading malicious code targeting computer servers has dramatically slowed internet traffic.
The attack - by what is known as a computer "worm" - has interfered with web browsing and e-mail delivery.
Computer experts said the slowdown on Saturday was similar to the impact of the "Code Red" virus, which brought internet traffic to a halt in the summer of 2001.
It is highly likely hackers have launched an all-out attack on the country's internet system
South Korean Information Ministry official
The malicious code targets servers that direct traffic on the internet and does not infect home computers.
In South Korea internet services were shut down nationwide for hours on Saturday, the country's Yonhap news agency reported.
Users and news media also reported outages or slowdowns in Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and India.
The malicious code exploits a vulnerability in database software from Microsoft, called the SQL Server, which was first identified in July 2002.
Companies need to take applying patches against new security threats seriously
Graham Cluley
Expert at anti-virus company Sophos
The code instructs the server to go into an endless loop, tricking it into thinking it is getting traffic all the time when in fact it is not, BBC News Online technology reporter Alfred Hermida says.
Unlike viruses, the worm exists only in memory, so it cannot be detected by traditional anti-virus scanners.
The malicious code - which is only 376 bytes in size - started to significantly attack the web at about 0530 GMT on Saturday.
Full story here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2693925.stm
