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A history of the [virus] world


By Victoria Reitano


 Victoria Reitano
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March 22, 2011 —  (Page 1 of 4)
Computer viruses are now being used as a tool in warfare, a sort of cyber-driven war, according to Guillaume Lovet, senior manager for Fortinet’s threat response team in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Fortinet is a security appliance provider and analysis firm.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the computer virus, Lovet wrote a blog post detailing the evolution of viruses, and he explained in an interview that what was once used as a way for computer techs to show off their coding skills is now being used as a way for governments to spy on and attack one another.

It all started in 1971 and has now emerged as a lucrative, underworld business of cybercrime where bots can be purchased and released into the Web in order to cause damage and steal personal information.

1971 – Creeper, catch me if you can
Creeper was released in a lab in 1971 by an employee working on ARPANET, the predecessor to the Internet. The virus was based on the theory of self-replicating automation created by the Hungarian mathematician, John von Neumann, in the 1950s, Lovet explained.

This virus jumped from system to system via a network, displaying the message “I'm the creeper, catch me if you can!” through the system. It showed that viruses are tied to the Internet through their need for networked systems.

1982 – Elk Cloner
This virus was written by a 15-year-old as a way to disable his friends’ Apple II computers without gaining physical access to them. It was spread via floppy disk. The infected machines displayed a poem, showcasing the skills of the virus author. This is significant, according to Lovet, because it was the first virus to spread outside of the lab it was created in.

1987 – Jerusalem
This virus was detected in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and every Friday the 13th, it deletes every single program running on the infected system. Lovet said this is the first destructive virus (as earlier viruses were meant to showcase skill), and it is the first to have a global impact.



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