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When
November 2, 1988
Who
Robert Tappan Morris, a Cornell grad student
Reach
About 6,000 computers, about 1 in 10 online
Result
First conviction under the U.S. computer fraud law

An experiment that got away

On November 2, 1988, Cornell graduate student Robert Tappan Morris released a small program onto the internet. It was meant to spread quietly, but a flaw made it copy itself again and again, even onto machines it had already infected. Computers slowed to a crawl and crashed.

Within about a day, the Morris worm had hit roughly 6,000 machines, about 1 in 10 computers on the internet at the time. Morris became the first person convicted under the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The incident also led to the creation of the first computer emergency response team, CERT, to coordinate fixes.

The worm used known weaknesses. Most attacks still do: they go after holes that a software update has already closed.

The cheapest security you’ll ever buy

  1. Turn on automatic updates. On every computer and phone, for the operating system and your browser.
  2. Don’t forget the router. Wi-Fi routers and printers need firmware updates too, and old ones may never get them again.
  3. Replace what’s out of support. If a device or program no longer gets security updates, plan to replace it before it becomes the open door.

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