South Korea hit by CIH-virus

South Korea hit by CIH-virus

SEOUL (AFP): Computer viruses called CIH hit South Korea for the second consecutive year on Wednesday, crippling thousands of computers in houses, companies and government offices, officials said.

The state-financed Korea Information Security Agency (KISA) and anti-virus research centers were being flooded by complaints from users who were hit by the outbreak of the virus, they said.

"It's hard to measure the damage as business firms and government agencies are reluctant to report to authorities. But we expect the extent of the damage to be smaller than last year's," said Lim Chae-Ho, a KISA director.

An official of Dr. Ahn's Anti-Virus Laboratories said game rooms and small and mid-sized firms were hit hardest. "Some 80 percent of the complaints we have received so far were from small and mid-sized businesses," he said.