#The morris worm virus code

In retrospect, prosecutor Mark Rasch told the Washington Post in 2013 that he thinks Morris should be pardoned. It was the 'oh shit' moment that spurred researchers into taking security seriously. Just the intent to gain unauthorized access to a system is enough-even if they do nothing with that access. The court case and failed appeal established an important legal precedent: 'White hat' hackers don't have to intend to cause harm to be convicted of a felony. Legal precedent and the genesis of security Morris appealed, but the conviction stuck: Three years probation, a $10,050 fine, 400 hours of community service, and the costs of his supervision. It was the first major internet worm, and it was (mostly) an accident.Дespite the claim that the chaos he caused was accidental, however, Morris became known for another first when he was convicted of a felony under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. There was no damage to the systems, just a bit of lost time while they were made operational again, and the security holes were fixed quickly-a bunch of computer science students faced an all-nighter that Thursday-so Morris' stunt is not seen today as a malicious attack by any means. The prosecutor, on the other hand, called it a 'full-scale assault.'ВІ It was an accident, and Morris apologized for it on the stand.В№ He had only intended to demonstrate UNIX security flaws in Send Mail and the finger demon, the danger of weak passwords, and other vulnerabilities. In 1990, Morris' lawyer argued that he didn't mean for the worm to reinfect machines at such a rate that they became inoperable.

#The morris worm virus code

A floppy containing the Morris Worm source code at the Computer History Museum.