Title :
Merry christma: an early network worm
Author :
Capek, Peter G. ; Chess, David M. ; White, Steve R. ; FEDELI, ALAN
Author_Institution :
IBM T. J. Watson Res. Center, Yorktown Heights, NY, USA
Abstract :
A computer worm disguised as a benign holiday greeting spread rapidly via email and clogged up networks worldwide. The story is all too common today, but this happened to corporate and university mainframes in 1987, in the infancy of the computer virus problem, even before the famous Internet, or Morris, worm. This article reviews 1987´s relevant global networking environment, the way the Christma worm spread, the events surrounding its worldwide propagation, and the surprising effect it had once it got inside IBM.
Keywords :
computer networks; computer viruses; electronic mail; Christma Exec; Christma Worm; IBM; computer networks; computer virus problem; computer worm; corporate mainframes; email; global networking environment; network worm; university mainframes; Collision mitigation; Computer displays; Computer security; Computer worms; Hardware; Internet; Postal services; Privacy; Virtual machining; Virtual manufacturing;
Journal_Title :
Security & Privacy, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/MSECP.2003.1236232
