Try to imagine how much of a nightmare it would be if hackers were to spread an email worm that could be easily modified by others and can wreak havoc on entire Operating Systems worldwide within a matter of just a few days. Well, on May 5th, 2000, that nightmare became a reality and it was known as “ILOVEYOU”. On May 5th of 2000, you check your email inbox to find an email with the title being “ILOVEYOU”. In the body of the message, there was a file called “LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs”. At the time, Windows computers automatically hid file extensions by default so you wouldn’t see “.vbs” unless you turned that setting off. Most computer users of the time wouldn’t suspect much of it and download the file. Once the file is downloaded and open, a Visual Basic script is activated, causing damage to files and the OS on the computer while spreading the virus by email to contacts on the infected user's device causing this worm to spread at a rapid rate. The other part about this worm that made it even more dangerous is the fact that hackers could easily edit the scripting of the file and spread their own versions of it as well. Who was responsible for this? A 24-year-old resident of Manila, Philippines names Onel de Guzman. The worm created by Guzman caused between $5.5 to 9 billion in damages worldwide with fifty million devices infected. Since the Philippines had no laws against creating malware at the time that it was made, Guzman could not be prosecuted and was set free.
