Abstract

... worm program. That program exploited flaws in utility programs in systems based on BSD-derived versions of UNIX. The flaws allowed the program to break into those machines and copy itself, thus infecting those systems. This program eventually spread to thousands of machines, and disrupted normal activities and Internet connectivity for many days. This paper explains why this program was a worm (as opposed to a virus), and provides a brief chronology of both the spread and eradication of the program. That is followed by discussion of some specific issues raised by the community’s reaction and subsequent discussion of the event. Included are some interesting lessons learned from the incident.

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