Virus still infecting Ministry of Defence systems

Computer malware which shut down Ministry of Defence (MoD) computers and email two weeks ago is still affecting its systems.

Some systems were still unavailable, though the MoD said that most of the infected machines had been restored to use.

The outbreak hit Royal Navy systems including warships and Royal Air Force (RAF) bases. However, the MoD was keen to stress that military operations were not affected.

Many have speculated on the cause of the malware outbreak, with some computer experts suggesting it could have come from Russia. Some reports claimed a defence official told a Conservative MP that email traffic from some RAF stations had been going to a Russian server, though the MoD denied that claim.

The MoD did confirm that the virus tried to dial into different domains, a characteristic of the Conficker or Downadup worm, which has spread at an incredible rate through networks around the world. However, a spokesperson at the MoD said that he couldn't comment on speculation that the Conficker worm was the cause of the trouble.