[Am-info] Virus-like attack hits web traffic

[Erick Andrews]

Well, they clearly give "MicroTheft" credit for this one:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2693925.stm

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.

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 internet software
from Microsoft, called the SQL Server, which was first identified
in July 2002.

The code instructs the server to go into an endless loop,
continually sending out data to other computers, in effect
performing a denial of service attack, 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.

[more]

-- 
Erick Andrews