EAGAN, Minn.--Jan. 30, 2003--WAMNET, a global provider of shared services for content management and distribution, confirmed today that there was no disruption to its services despite the spread of the SQL Slammer worm virus that spread quickly around the world last weekend. SQL Slammer did not affect WAM!NET service availability. The worm, which began to proliferate shortly after midnight EST on Saturday, congested Internet traffic and quickly forced many computer systems offline including one major bank's ATM network, airline systems and several e-commerce sites. Said to be the worst attack on the Internet since the Code Red virus in the summer of 2001, SQL Slammer slowed the performance of major U.S. sites by an average of 50%, and decreased availability by 10% in the U.S. according to Keynote Systems Inc., an Internet performance-monitoring company. "Although the use of the Internet is an essential part of any organization's overall network strategy today, those who solely rely on it for mission-critical data communications are vulnerable to problems like these," said Richard Metcalf, WAM!NET CTO. "And that can mean missed deadlines, lost revenue and unplanned operating budget overruns." WAM!NET was selected by prime contractor Electronic Data Systems (EDS) to build and manage a new global networked platform for the Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI). NMCI, which will provide voice, video and data services to sailors and Marines across 350 bases and more than 400,000 seats, represents the largest IT initiative undertaken by the Federal government. WAM!NET was chosen by EDS largely because of its proven network expertise and security capabilities. WAM!NET's own data facilities meet Department of Defense Level 4 security requirements. In addition to government agencies, the company serves corporations and creative services firms, printers and publishers, and media and entertainment companies. WAM!NET's clients include four of the top ten brand advertisers, seven of the top ten advertising agencies, four of the top five media and entertainment companies, four of the top ten publishers, and seven of the top ten printers. WAM!NET, which has built one of the largest global private networks in the world, offers a full complement of data distribution, storage and networking services which its customers use to transport,manage, repurpose and make money from their digital content. With WAM!NET's subscription-based services, organizations eliminate the capital expense, security risks, technology obsolescence and ongoing administrative and maintenance requirements of "do-it-yourself" solutions. "Our customers appreciate the value of WAM!NET's secure global network and storage environment, supported by superior customer service," added Metcalf. "Thousands of organizations are now forced to deploy expensive systems and network administration staff - virtually full time - to clean up the SQL Slammer mess. WAM!NET handles its clients' connectivity and infrastructure needs so they don't have to."