An Internet worm unleashed on Saturday impaired key systems in the U.S. government and private sector, delaying operations at one major airline and several media organizations, and knocking banks' cash machines offline. . . .. An Internet worm unleashed on Saturday impaired key systems in the U.S. government and private sector, delaying operations at one major airline and several media organizations, and knocking banks' cash machines offline. At least 160,000 computers worldwide have been infected since the worm debuted early Saturday morning, said Peter Allor, operations director of the Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Center. "That's really a conservative estimate," Allor said. "We'll know about the extent of this attack in a few days." The effects of the worm -- known variously as "Sapphire," "Slammer" and "SQ-Hell" -- have diminished in many parts of the world since Saturday. Major Internet service providers were able to block traffic destined for servers running a vulnerable Microsoft Corp. database program called SQL Server 2000. The link for this article located at Security Focus is no longer available. . A web-based malware disrupted essential services, impacting financial institutions and a leading airline on Saturday. Discover additional details regarding the incident.. Internet Worm Outbreak, SQL Server Impact, Cyber Threats. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
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