The Internet worm that struck hundreds of thousands of computers last month spread more quikly than past attacks, doubling in numbers every 8.5 seconds, researchers say.
At that speed, the worm infected more than 75,000 computers within 10 minutes during its Jan. 25 rampage, clogging pipelines and slowing down traffic for Internet users around the world.
Researchers say the programming code behind the worm, alternately dubbed Slammer or Sapphire, was 376 characters long, about one-tenth the size of Code Red, a worm that hit the Net in July 2001. The small size allowed the new worm to reproduce and spread more rapidly.
The analysis was conducted by computer scientists at the San Deigo and Berkeley campuses of the University of Cali & other institutions.