Worm crashes Coastguard computers

By Charles Arthur, Technology Editor

Independent:Computers at the Coastguard Agency were among millions of PCs hit yesterday by a new worm that spreads over the internet.

The Sasser worm, which exploits a flaw in Microsoft's Windows software, disrupted work at the Marine and Coastguard Agency, forcing staff to use pencil and paper to find ships and locate distress calls on maps.