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The Most Prominent Pandemics Of Cyber Viruses
Malware has become more sophisticated and attacks vulnerabilities in countless ways. It includes new and dangerous species, including worms (named after the human parasitic worm), trojans, and ransomware which are not by strict definitions computer viruses and should be designated as such. In general, malware, worms, and Trojan horses can cause billions of dollars in damage and disrupt critical infrastructure in real life.
In our daily lives, we often say that we feel sick when we are infected with a virus. But we must not forget that each of these types of viruses represents a unique threat to their respective worlds. The same thing is valid for computer viruses. In this list, we highlight some of the worst and most notorious computer viruses that have caused real-life great damage. Some equate common malware, worms, and Trojan horses.
The creator of the world’s first global computer virus pleaded guilty to 20 years of the design of his software after it infected tens of millions of computers.
One of the largest computer viruses attacks in medical history forced the cancellation of surgery and prompted health workers to switch to paper records. The wreck was so bad that governments and large companies had to take their mail systems offline to prevent infection.
A Unisys white paper three years ago estimated that Zeus, a computer virus, was behind 44% of malware attacks on banks. The most devastating malware to date is MyDoom, which has caused estimated damage of more than $3.8 billion. The effect of the virus is far-reaching: by moving infected computers, it creates network openings that allow others to access the computer.
