Fifteen years ago today, millions of people around the world received the same exact email from someone they knew."Kindly check the attached LOVELETTER coming from me," read the email, which had "ILOVEYOU" as a subject.The missive included an attachment that looked like a text file named "LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU."
But there was no love in that letter—just a destructive, self-spreading computer virus. The bug was programmed to replace all files with media extensions such as images, documents and mp3s with copies of itself. Then, the worm would send an identical email around to all the contacts of a victim's Outlook address book.The virus came to be known as the ILOVEYOU worm, or LOVEBUG. At the time, it was the biggest computer virus the world had ever seen, and the "first successful use of social engineering," according to Mike Donnelly, a security engineer at Bromium
"We had seen some virus storms before this, but never anything on a scale like this."
"We had seen some virus storms before this, but never anything on a scale like this," said Philip Menke, a consultant at Intel Security who at the time was working at the EMEA helpdesk of McAfee (which has since been acquired by Intel). "A computer virus until that stage never made headline news, this is maybe one of the first times that people realized how important and indispensable the digital, wired economy had become."Reports at the time said it infected more than 45 million computer users, all lured by the promise of a heart-warming love letter."There was nothing particularly clever about the Love Bug's code that explained why it had spread so widely so quickly," Graham Cluley, a well-known computer security expert, wrote six years ago in a blog post reminiscing about the bug. "The reason for its 'success' was that it had tapped into a universal need: the desire to be loved."
The number of victims perhaps doesn't even explain all the damage the virus made. With so many victims hit, many mail systems around the world completely overloaded, Menke recalled, causing "huge chunk of the businesses and governments to fully grind down to a halt."At the time, when email spam filters and antiviruses were still not as sophisticated, when email malware was still rare, that's all ILOVEYOU needed to cause havoc.
"The general idea in those days was that just opening a mail could never do any harm."
"The general idea in those days was that just opening a mail could never do any harm," Menke told Motherboard. "And this was one of the first cases where that exactly was all that was needed."To have an idea at the panic it caused among security professionals, who scrambled to respond to a rapidly expanding problem, just take a look at some of the emails they exchanged on the Usenet mailing list alt.comp.virus on May 5, the day the virus hit Europe and the US after spreading from the Philippines on May 4.Onel de Guzman and Reonel Ramones, two young members of an underground group of computer science students that called itself GRAMMERSoft, were quickly identified as the potential culprits of the virus spread.
Ramones was arrested, while de Guzman went into hiding for a few days, only to reemerge to admit that it was "possible" that he mistakenly sent out the virus, but denied direct responsibility, a position he long repeated."I admit I create viruses, but I don't know if it's one of mine," he told the New York Times a few months later.
"I admit I create viruses, but I don't know if it's one of mine."
Neither him nor Ramones were never charged, since at the time, law in the Philippines did not include computer crimes.15 years later, the world of information security, which is often referred to as cybersecurity much to the chagrin of many industry insiders, has changed radically. Gone are the days of accidental, widespread and destructive virus infections. Now, targeted attacks and "APTs," or advanced persistent threats, grab headlines seemingly every week.Yet, ILOVEYOU, taught us something that is still valid today."Viruses today live on Facebook, on the web and even in mail, but they still want you to open that attachment, click that link or open that pdf," Menke said.Some things never change.
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FAQs
Reminiscing about a love letter that contained a destructive self-replicating computer worm. Fifteen years ago today, millions of people around the world received the same exact email from someone they knew.
Does the ILOVEYOU virus still exist? ›
Although the ILOVEYOU virus is no longer active, it serves as an example of how quickly malicious code can spread across the internet and cause widespread damage. Additionally, it highlights the importance of being aware of cyber threats and taking steps to protect yourself from them.
How many people were affected by the ILOVEYOU virus? ›
Within ten days, over fifty million infections had been reported, and it is estimated that 10% of Internet-connected computers in the world had been affected. Damage cited was mostly the time and effort spent getting rid of the infection and recovering files from backups.
Is the Love Bug a virus True or false? ›
ILOVEYOU is also known as the "love letter virus" and the "love bug worm." Although commonly referred to as a computer virus, ILOVEYOU is actually a worm.
How many machines are infected with Love Bug? ›
The young student had good reason to hide. He'd been accused of unleashing the Love Bug, a high-profile and extremely successful virus that had infected an estimated 45 million computers worldwide and caused billions of dollars' worth of damage. Buy This Book At: Amazon.
What is the oldest virus still active? ›
The oldest is a 48,500-year-old pandoravirus, which set a world record for the age of a restored virus, co-author Jean-Michel Claverie, a genomicist at Aix-Marseille University in France, tells New Scientist's Michael Le Page.
Who is the creator of ILOVEYOU virus and how did it happened? ›
In May of 2000, a young hacker in the Philippines named Onel de Guzman created an email worm that would change the way the world thought about cybersecurity.
How was the Morris worm stopped? ›
Morris's exploits became generally obsolete due to decommissioning rsh (normally disabled on untrusted networks), fixes to sendmail and finger, widespread network filtering, and improved awareness of weak passwords.
Why is code red? ›
Code Red was a computer worm observed on the Internet on July 15, 2001. It attacked computers running Microsoft's IIS web server. It was the first large-scale, mixed-threat attack to successfully target enterprise networks.
Can a love bug bite you? ›
Lovebugs may be a familiar summer and fall sight to many people in the South, but these nuisance insects don't get a lot of love. Lovebugs do not bite or sting people, but their swarming presence is at best an annoying occurrence and at worst a mess all over your car.
After mating and laying eggs, adult lovebugs die within a few days or weeks. The eggs hatch into larvae that live in decaying plant material before pupating into adult insects themselves.
What eats love bugs? ›
While lovebugs are not a favored food of most insectivores due to their acidic taste, lovebug larvae—and some adults—are food for birds such as quail and robins. Arthropod predators include spiders, some predatory insects such as earwigs, at least two species of beetle larvae, and centipedes.
Is ILOVEYOU a virus or worm? ›
Although it's often labeled as a computer virus, it's more precise to call ILOVEYOU a worm. The technical difference between a virus and a worm is that a worm doesn't depend on interaction with the user to replicate itself. Meanwhile, a virus requires a user to activate the host file.
Can you get rid of love bugs? ›
Make a DIY love bug repellent by mixing 3 tablespoons of mouthwash and 3 tablespoons of citrus dish soap into 1 cup of water. Use a spray bottle to apply on plants, walls, and any other affected areas. Use fans to deter flying love bugs and a vacuum to physically remove them.
Why do love bugs get stuck? ›
They are mating. Adult females will emerge and live 3 to 4 days, just long enough to mate before they die. Because of this, they must stick together at all time. There are 2 major flights of love bugs during the year.
Does PC virus still exist? ›
It spreads through a computer by email, peripheral devices, and internet browsers. With more viruses getting created every day, these threats are still relevant, and using a good antivirus program is important.
What is the scariest computer virus in the world? ›
11 most dangerous computer viruses
- Mydoom. Considered by many to be the most dangerous computer virus in history, the Mydoom virus cost around $38 billion worth of damage in 2004. ...
- Sobig. The Sobig virus is a computer worm. ...
- Conficker. ...
- Klez. ...
- ILOVEYOU. ...
- WannaCry. ...
- Sasser. ...
- Zeus.
The zombie fungus is not capable of infecting humans. It is actually common in some health supplements and in Chinese herbal medicine as it can improve immunity and possibly be helpful in fighting cancer cells or shrinking tumor size.
What is the oldest computer virus in the world? ›
As noted by Discovery, the Creeper program, often regarded as the first virus, was created in 1971 by Bob Thomas of BBN. Creeper was actually designed as a security test to see if a self-replicating program was possible. It was—sort of.
