security 28 years ago: The Morris Worm

[Kate]

Unless you were born in the 70s or earlier you probably don't remember this incident
Back then the WWW didn't exist and the Internet was still known as Arpanet.

On November 2nd 1988, the history of the internet and information security changed. The Morris Worm, released at 6pm EST that night, brought the internet to an effective standstill causing the greatest damage ever seen by malware to that date. Thousands of computers were affected and systems brought to a halt as the Morris Worm exploited their vulnerabilities. Normal activity was disrupted and connectivity impeded for many days, as the first multi-platform malware spread across the internet.
...

Source: http://www.welivesecurity.com/2016/11/02/flashback-tuesday-morris-worm/

[NYT] 1988 Article: http://www.nytimes.com/times-insider/2014/08/06/1988-the-internet-comes-down-with-a-virus/?_r=0

 

[HotKey]

Fascinating stuff...a real life thriller. Just as long as you're not on the receiving end when this happens. I get the uncomfortable feeling at any given time we're all vulnerable to this sort of thing, no matter what security we think we have.

"Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier" sounds like a great read, going to look for it. Another good one I really enjoyed was "Kingpin" by Kevin Poulsen.

 

[Kate]

30 years ago.