Police arrested two British men yesterday on suspicion of involvement in spreading a worm virus that infected 18 000 computers worldwide and caused millions of dollars worth of damage.
The worm, known as "TK", is a little-known virus, security experts said.
Police, who refused to name the suspects as they had not yet been charged, said they did not believe they had any connections with Slammer, the worm that virtually crashed the Internet worldwide two weeks ago.
Authorities said the suspects are from County Durham in northern England, a 19-year-old electrician and an unemployed 21-year-old.
The "TK" worm, which replicates quickly in targeted host computers, was designed by an international hacking ring called "THr34t-Krew", police said.
They said they became aware of the worm last month and that it caused damage estimated at $9 million.
Internet police are having more success in their investigations into hacking and virus writing.
A 22-year-old Welsh man was sentenced last month by a British Court to two years imprisonment for writing a trio of e-mail viruses, a violation of Britain`s Computer Misuse Act.
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