Analysis of the ILOVEYOU Worm
Matt Bishop · 2000
This worm was particularly virulent. In a few hours, it had spread worldwide. Among the institutions affected were the British Parliament, the United States Congress, the United States Air Force, and innumerable businesses and organizations. Most anti-virus vendors had signatures out within 24 hours, and several mailing lists described how to filter electronic mail to block any incoming instances of electronic mail containing the worm. Unfortunately, the nature of the filtering was not comprehensive, and copycat worms with differing subject lines slipped through. The seriousness of the problem increased as a variant informed people that about $300 had been charged to their credit card for a Mothers Day present, and they could click on the attachment to see the invoice. The latter step would ostensibly provide the information needed to challenge the unauthorized charge. That step introduced the worm onto the system.