Robert Tappan Morris: The Creation Of The Worm
Robert Tappan Morris created the first ever computer worm, and used it to, according to Morris, gauge the size of the Internet. Morris served no jail time, but rather was charged a $10,000 fine and was assigned to 400 hours of community service time. Morris created the worm while attending graduate school at Cornell, and it apparently caused disruption for numerous computers linked to the Internet.
Morris claims that he was not creating the worm with malicious intentions in mind, but he did get the sense that he may have been doing something wrong. Upon creation of the Morris worm, nearly 6,000 computers became infiltrated and affected. Two years prior to this incident, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of
1986 was passed, and it was under this
legislation in which prosecutors went after
Morris for his involvement in the use of his worm. According to the Business Insider,
“The New York Times reported that Morris could represent a ‘turning point in how society views its computer wizards.’” Robert Morris is now a professor at the same institution in which he introduced the virus back in 1988, the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
There is a bit of irony in the story of Robert Tappan Morris and his family background. Morris, in one-way or another, introduced the world to an incredibly invasive piece of malware that can infiltrate and compromise one’s privacy, and yet, his father worked for a government agency who’s primary goal is to protect the security of people and their information. Robert Morris Sr. worked for the National
Security Agency (NSA), and more ironically, was the chief scientist of the
Morris claims that he was not creating the worm with malicious intentions in mind, but he did get the sense that he may have been doing something wrong. Upon creation of the Morris worm, nearly 6,000 computers became infiltrated and affected. Two years prior to this incident, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of
1986 was passed, and it was under this
legislation in which prosecutors went after
Morris for his involvement in the use of his worm. According to the Business Insider,
“The New York Times reported that Morris could represent a ‘turning point in how society views its computer wizards.’” Robert Morris is now a professor at the same institution in which he introduced the virus back in 1988, the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
There is a bit of irony in the story of Robert Tappan Morris and his family background. Morris, in one-way or another, introduced the world to an incredibly invasive piece of malware that can infiltrate and compromise one’s privacy, and yet, his father worked for a government agency who’s primary goal is to protect the security of people and their information. Robert Morris Sr. worked for the National
Security Agency (NSA), and more ironically, was the chief scientist of the