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Conficker worm hits Sheffield hospitals

A computer virus alleged to be the conficker worm has reportedly compromised the internet security of hospitals across Sheffield in England prompting managers to take unprecedented measures, it has emerged.

According to the Register, some 8,000 computers have been shut down in a bid to prevent the fast spreading virus said to have compromised the online security of 800 computers from bringing down the entire network.

The website states that insiders at the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Trust have revealed to it that some functions had to be to be stopped as IT staff battled the infection, which is "under control".

"Our IT team have been working very closely with external anti-virus specialists to remove the remnants from the network," the website quotes David Whitham, the trust's informatics director.

"We do not know how the virus entered the network but at around the same time as the virus became evident the automatic update process had been temporarily disabled following problems with a number of PCs in theatres."

The self-replicating virus is said to have infected millions of computers worldwide.

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