Navy torpedoed by virus

 

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By Asavin Wattanajantra

Posted on 16 Jan 2009 at 16:34

The communication systems of the Royal Navy have been hit by a virus, affecting IT systems including email and internet access aboard its warships.

The MoD says that the performance of its IT systems had been affected by the virus. It stresses that no weaponry or navigation systems have been infected, and that there are no problems detected on any networks that hold sensitive information.

A report from the Portsmouth News claims that sailors from the HMS Ark Royal flagship couldn't send messages home using the NavyStar network.

It was also reported that 75% of the Royal Navy systems had been affected, but this couldn't be confirmed by the MoD.

The NavyStar system was fitted by Fujitsu in 2001. The PCs used for the ships are built using normal commercial components, but were packaged to make them smaller and better suited for the difficult conditions of a Royal Navy environment.

A solution to prevent re-infection has already been tested and implemented with the majority of systems reportedly working normally.

The MoD confirmed a blog post by Sophos's security expert Graham Cluley, where he guessed that the systems were not targeted by hackers.

"It's more likely that a human error or lapse in security accidentally let a virus or worm spread across the systems," Cluley speculated.

"We would expect those bodies responsible for the security of the country to have proper defences in place."