Top-10 computer viruses that led to huge losses

When accessing the Internet, each user is at risk of encountering malicious software that may result in significant losses

May 5, 2000 damage from a computer virus with the romantic name "ILOVEYOU" in North America alone amounted to a billion dollars. The computer worm was one of the first viruses spread through e-mail in the form of a love letter. In total, it affected more than 500,000 systems and led to more than $ 15 billion in losses.

However, ILOVEYOU is by far not the only virus that caused so much money damage. I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the ten most "expensive" computer viruses of all time.

Sasser created a lot of trouble in 2004, resulting in a $ 500 million loss. In addition, he destroyed the cartographic system of the British Coast Guard and provoked the cancellation of a number of flights. The creator of the virus, which caused so much harm, was a teenager from Germany. He was quickly detained after one of his "friends" surrendered a young hacker in order to receive a $ 250,000 reward from Microsoft.

This virus not only entered the list of the most expensive, but also became one of the most common on the Internet. In 2001, it caused damage in the amount of $ 635 million. The effect of the virus was manifested at a significantly slower speed of the Internet connection. In addition, he could send letters with the infected file "read-me" to all contacts of the email of the user whose computer was hit.

SQL Slammer, which appeared in 2003, affected mostly automated banking systems, causing approximately $ 750 million in losses. In total, the action of this virus succumbed to more than 200,000 computers around the world. Like Nimda, it provoked a noticeable slowdown in the Internet connection.

In 1998, a student from Taiwan created the computer virus Chernobyl (also known as CIH). It affected about 500,000 personal computers, and losses are estimated at $ 1 billion. At one time, CIH was considered one of the most dangerous viruses, because right after activation, it could damage the data of the BIOS chips and destroy all information from hard disks. It is interesting that the creator of the virus has never been brought to justice and now he is working quietly at Gigabyte.

The SirCam computer worm inflicted more than $ 1 billion in losses in 2001. This virus could compromise confidential information, delete any items stored on the computer and fill the space on the hard drive until there was no memory left to store anything else.

The Melissa virus was especially sneaky - it sent infected Microsoft Word documents on behalf of the computer's owner. Viral messages came to everyone who was listed in the user's address book. The malicious message could be stolen according to the words: "Here is the document you asked for ... do not pass it on to anyone else." A virus-infected document was attached to the message. In 1999, Melissa caused a loss of $ 1.2 billion.

To date, one of the most famous viruses is Code Red. In 2001, losses from it amounted to more than $ 2 billion. Code Red could hack computer networks and use weak points in Microsoft software. Once the virus infected one device, it immediately penetrated other computers on the network.

The Conficker virus, which infected millions of computers around the world in 2007, caused more than $ 9.1 billion in losses. He checked computers for weaknesses and vulnerabilities, assigned keyboard shortcuts, and downloaded code from hacker sites.

In 2003, the SoBig virus caused damage, corresponding to its name - $ 37.1 billion. It spread very quickly, circulating by e-mail in the form of spam. As soon as the user opened the message, the virus immediately penetrated his computer. SoBig had the ability to copy files, send emails to other users and cause serious harm to software and even hardware. Identify the creator of the virus did not succeed, although Microsoft promised a big reward for information about it.

This 2004 computer virus still holds the title of the most destructive in history. The damage from it is estimated at more than $ 38 billion. In addition, the consequences from MyDoom were serious and lengthy. The virus gave attackers access to the infected computer and had the opportunity to unconsciously open various programs. According to specialists, about 25% of all letters in 2004 were infected with the virus.