Morris Worm

The Morris worm was first launched on November 2, 1988, written by a Cornell University student by the name of Robert Tappan Morris. It was released from the MIT facility, disguising the truth that it originated from Cornell University. The Morris worm eventually led to the first conviction that violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. According the initial creator, the Morris worm was not intended to inflict damage; only to effectively measure the size of the internet. However, an error in the code caused the worm to behave in erratic fashion. It led to the infection of several machines, terribly faltering the performance of some and causing others to become completely inoperable. The Morris worm functioned by exploiting known vulnerabilities in Unix operating systems and mail utilities. Initially, the body of the worm only had the power to infect DEC VAX machines running on BSD 4 and Sun 3 operating systems. However, the Morris worm contained a grappling hook component that allowed it to latch over the body and load itself onto other systems.