Anniversary of the “I Love You” pandemic computer virus.
A virus combining social engineering and systemic exploitation in a world not yet ready for a pandemic.
Analysis and differences with the Coronavirus.
The “I Love You” computer virus was developed by a former student who dropped out after submitting his thesis:
“E-mail Password Sender Trojan”
His professors rejected it, scribbling: “We don’t train burglars.” and “It’s illegal.” This former student’s goal was to provide internet access to the poorest people in his country. Following the rejection of his thesis, he left the university but continued to have access to the university lab and pursue his passion for programming and computer science. — FAQ: Why is this true in computer science? The reason given is that Trojan-type software included in theses continues to evolve until they are submitted.
To connect to the internet, a phone card, a password, and the owner’s name are required.
Generally, their data is stored on a personal computer, and the student has already coded the software that allows them to send this information via another piece of malware. This malware is named WIN-BUGSFIX.exe.
However, for this to work, the owner’s PC must already be infected.
FAQ: Student or former student: When writing the WIN-BUGSFIX.exe software, it is entirely possible that the student was still a student. In considering the need, I believe this is the first task to address. It is very likely that this code was already written when the thesis proposal was submitted.
The current need is to describe the virus that allows the malware to be installed on all computers to provide internet access to the most vulnerable.
A few points to note before we begin:
The student programmed his virus in VBScript. These are interpreted files primarily used by Internet Explorer. Microsoft wanted to use these files and make them executable outside of Internet Explorer to accelerate their deployment via its Windows Script Host (WSH) technology.
After his thesis was rejected, the developer continued to improve his virus.
During the writing of his thesis, the student had therefore written a malicious program, WIN-BUGSFIX.EXE, and a virus program designed to retrieve this software and install it on the target computer.
FAQ: The usefulness of a firewall. With the “I Love You” virus, the usefulness of a firewall is clear, because this virus retrieves its payload via a specific address. If the firewall is configured to block this address, the computer is protected against the payload.
He improved his software by adding three mechanisms:
Self-spreading mechanism: The worm retrieves the email addresses of the infected computer’s contacts. The owner, via their email, then becomes a spreader.
Survival mechanism: The virus runs automatically when the computer starts up.
Infection mechanism: Starting with another student’s thesis, the virus copies the code that allows it to replicate. During replication, the worm selects all types of files (Internet Explorer scripts, files, Internet Explorer web page layout files, images), empties their contents, and copies its code into the original image. It’s like a worm eating an apple from the inside; the worm then replicates and moves on to the next apple. The apple looks healthy, but in reality, it now only contains a copy of the worm. There is a slight difference with audio files.
The virus was deployed on May 4, 2000.
It infected 10% of the world’s computer systems in less than seven days (usually in a single day).
More than 50 million computers were infected. This figure is relatively low thanks to the speed of the global response.
Businesses shut down all their internet connections at dawn.
Difference between Coronavirus and I Love You.
Ultimately, the two viruses share striking similarities: the first leads to the rapid death of the patient, while the second results in the destruction of data on the hard drive. Both are highly viral.
And yet, the first will not be contained, whereas the second will take less than 7 days to block and eradicate.
The first is the second pandemic, so the training exercise had already taken place.
So why did the Coronavirus become a pandemic so easily?
The reason is mathematical: If I Love You hadn’t been stopped, the global computer system would have blacked out, and all computers would have crashed. The economic loss would have been devastating. Thus, at dawn, computers were disconnected from their network connections, and newspapers were authorized to release the information.
With the Coronavirus, the economy could continue to function despite the virus. There was no monetary loss. There was therefore no point in closing the airports, confining people, and releasing the information.
May 4, 2000
I Love You anniversary.