Conficker’s real purpose still confounds security experts.ģ) agent.btz (2008) This piece of malware’s claim to fame is that it temporarily forced the Pentagon to issue a blanket ban on thumb drives and even contributed to the creation of an entirely new military department, U.S. At its height, the Conficker worm infected millions of computers, leading anti-virus researchers to call it the “super bug,” or “super worm.” But the real mystery of Conficker, which still infects a large number of computers, is that no one knows what it was meant to do: the botnet army was never used for any specific purpose, to the best of anyone’s knowledge. Its complexity made it difficult to stop, and the virus prompted the creation of a coalition of experts dedicated to stopping its spread.

Though Stuxnet was discovered in 2010, it is believed to have first infected computers in Iran in 2009.Ģ) Conficker Virus (2009)In 2009, a new computer worm crawled its way into millions of Windows-based PCs around the world, creating a massive botnet army of remotely controlled computers capable of stealing financial data and other information. Based on the available information, including data from the International Atomic Energy Agency, experts believe Stuxnet caused a large number of Iran’s centrifuges-essentially giant washing machines used to enrich uranium-to spin out of control and self-destruct.

Specifically, Stuxnet was designed to damage machinery at Iran’s uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. While previous malware programs may have caused secondary physical problems, Stuxnet was unique in that it targeted software that controls industrial systems.

As the stakes have grown, so too has the potential damage and destruction brought on by malware.ġ) Stuxnet (2009-2010) The arrival of Stuxnet was like a cartoon villain come to life: it was the first computer virus designed specifically to cause damage in the real, as opposed to virtual, world. Now, the hackers have gone professional, and their ambitions have grown rather than amateurs working out of their parents' basement, malware creators are often part of an underworld criminal gang, or working directly for a foreign government or intelligence agency. Computer viruses have come a long way from the early days of personal computers, when teenage hackers competed for bragging rights, creating malware designed for mischief or random mayhem.

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