South China Hit by "Nimda" Worm

More than 500 computers in south China's island province of Hainan have been attacked by the Internet virus "Nimda" since the worm broke out on September 18.

Sources with the Internet security department of the Provincial Bureau of Public Security said the 14 companies and institutions affected by the virus have suffered heavy economic losses, citing the example of the network of a company that had been paralyzed for five days after the initial attack.

The worm is similar to, but more aggressive than the "Code Red" worm that infected hundreds of thousands of computers a few months ago.

The virus can infect computers swiftly through direct Internet attacks or via e-mails. It can also slow down the Internet for many users even when its attacks are not successful.

Computer experts point out that major targets of the virus are governmental organs, large enterprises, research institutions, universities and communication departments.






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