GSLC · Question #73
Which of the following malware spread through the Internet and caused a large DoS attack in 1988?
The correct answer is C. Morris worm. The Morris worm (1988) was the first worm to spread across the Internet and caused widespread denial-of-service by exploiting Unix vulnerabilities, making it a landmark cybersecurity incident.
Question
Which of the following malware spread through the Internet and caused a large DoS attack in 1988?
Options
- ALoveLetter worm
- BKlez worm
- CMorris worm
- DSQL slammer worm
How the community answered
(31 responses)- A6% (2)
- B3% (1)
- C87% (27)
- D3% (1)
Why each option
The Morris worm (1988) was the first worm to spread across the Internet and caused widespread denial-of-service by exploiting Unix vulnerabilities, making it a landmark cybersecurity incident.
The LoveLetter worm emerged in May 2000 and spread via email attachments, over a decade after the 1988 incident.
The Klez worm appeared in late 2001 and propagated through email clients, not the early Internet of 1988.
The Morris worm, written by Robert Morris and released in November 1988, propagated by exploiting vulnerabilities in Unix sendmail, fingerd, and rsh/rexec services. Its aggressive self-replication consumed system resources on thousands of Internet-connected machines, effectively causing a large-scale denial-of-service. This event directly led to the founding of the first CERT Coordination Center.
The SQL Slammer worm surfaced in January 2003 and targeted Microsoft SQL Server UDP port 1434, not the 1988 timeframe.
Concept tested: Historical malware - Morris worm DoS 1988
Source: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/morris-worm
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