In breaking news this morning there are reports
of another virus assaulting Microsoft systems. The fast-moving
computer worm has been striking computers across Europe, Asia and the
US, including American media organisations.

Computers at Capitol Hill, ABC News, CNN and The New York
Times, have been struck by the virus which causes computers running the
Windows 2000 operating system to restart repeatedly, according to Reuters. And CNN reports
that a small number of computers at San Francisco Airport were crashed
by the virus, but they were not essential to the airport’s operation.

The worm can be remedied with a downloadable patch on Microsoft’s security homepage, which was the plan of attack at The New York Times,
where computers were temporarily pulled offline to update security.
CNN announced
the existence of the worm after they were forced to make
some changes to programming on Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, at the ABC
newsroom, computers were down for two hours, which left writers at World
News Tonight “banging away on electric typewriters,” says Brian Krebs in The Washington Post.

Microsoft says
it’s investigating the “malicious worm,” and has advised American
customers who suspect they’ve been attacked to contact their local FBI
office, or to register their complaint on the Internet Fraud Complaint
Centre website.