- (AP) A computer virus was blamed for bringing down train
signaling systems throughout the East on Wednesday.
-
- The virus infected the computer system at CSX Corp.'s
Jacksonville, Fla., headquarters, shutting down signaling, dispatching
and other systems at about 1:15 a.m. EDT, CSX spokesman Adam Hollingsworth
said.
-
- "The cause was believed to be a worm virus similar
to those that have infected the systems of other major companies and agencies
in recent days," Hollingsworth said.
-
- The signaling outage briefly affected the entire CSX
system, which covers 23 states east of the Mississippi River.
-
- A virus known as "Sobig" has in the last few
days become the fastest-spreading e-mail epidemic ever, according to security
company Messagelabs, adding to havoc caused by the "Blaster"
worm, which debuted last week.
-
- A derivative of "Blaster" brought down Air
Canada's check-in systems Tuesday.
-
- Although the problem at CSX had been largely corrected
Wednesday afternoon, there were some residual delays in Amtrak service
from Washington to Richmond, Va., and points south, Amtrak spokesman Dan
Stessel said.
-
- "Most of the delays are in the 15 to 30-minute range
on trains that travel through CSX territory," Stessel said.
-
- Ten Amtrak trains were affected in the morning, Stessel
said. Trains between Pittsburgh and Florence, S.C. were halted because
of dark signals and one regional Amtrak train from Richmond, Va., to Washington
and New York was delayed for more than two hours. Long-distance trains
were delayed between four and six hours.
-
- More than a dozen commuter trains in the Washington area
were canceled.
-
- CSX will work to protect its computer systems from further
intrusion, Hollingsworth said.
-
-
- By Marty Niland © MMIII The Associated Press. All
Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,
or redistributed.
-
- http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/08/21/tech/main569418.shtml
|