European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 17, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A single strategically placed computer Wilhen infected memory say personal computer based electronic bulletin Board can rapidly meet thousand of Small computer to lems. Have also Oporto inc Lions in Florida Colorado. New Jersey and Fow York 1 la s apparently going Lobo the game this year to Sec who can Como up Wilh the Best  said Dennis Sec incur. A senior Security specialist at the National Bureau of standards which promotes computer Security in non military Federal agencies and the private sector we re All  vet he said thai Iho Bureau planned no immediate recommendations on the virus threat Wilshi smiled  he said we like to Pul our priorities in areu5 Fth of wry can see a solution Olshef report of viruses Are also coming to Light Security cperl5 at sri International in Paio Alto. Calif. Acc Nelly said they Tiad Learned of a mainframe computer to the san Francisco area being subverted by a Sims Como Ucris so Corr y inc journal of the Security group of fips. A leading International Assoc Iarion to computer poles morals last Winter reported several major incidents of virus attacks on big mainframe systems in Western Europe " rumours regarding an alleged virus attack recently on two irs uni vac computers in Philadelphia have been vehemently denied by irs officials. Trio system was taken Oli line they said so richly for main Lanance viruses now circulating in the United Stales wore designed to eventually destroy Dala in ism and compatible personal computers the Apple macintosh and Commodore technology s Amiga according to company officials and employees in almost All the report cd cases the virus codes were overtly malicious. One of the most troubling reports has come from Israel whore an infectious virus code was spread widely Over a iwo month period last Lall and was apparently intended As a weapon of political protest according to Yuval Hakavy a student at hebrew University in Jerusalem who first discovered then dismantled the virus code Tho Codo contained a Lime bomb thai on Friday May 13, 1988, would have caused infected programs to Eraso All stored files. May 13 will be the 4qih anniversary of the last Day Palestine existed As a political entity Israel declared us Security expert say that term Isle. Hackers or even practical jokers could invent viruses that Wolf of Vreatt to toe in the computer world and in the business and military operations out veto dependent an it Aryl 1988 Independence on May a 1948. Hakavy said there had been rumours that a Sims was circulating in Israel Blore he was asked on Dee. 30, to help a Friend understand Why his personal computer was nol working properly. When i go to Soe Al he said. I knew immediately what it was i be known about viruses for several years he added referring to the scientific american idler. While it awaited its May 13 trigger Date said Hakavy the israeli virus was already instructing the computer to slow to Ono full h its Normal Speed some 30 minutes Afler it was turned on and from Lima to time put garbage on the  yet it wits nol the irritation Wilh Speed or screen problems Hal finally called attention to ing infected code said Shmuel Peleg a professor of computer science at hebrew University. The code bomb was Only discovered because an error in the virus program caused it to mistake previously in clod programs As uninfected. Then in error in would add anole or copy of i sell to the program. Supposedly unmodified programs were growing hooding disk memories he said we had programs which had been Inlet cd 300, 400 limes " a spokesman Tor hebrew University. Israel Radai. Called the infection the most devastating thing we have come  he said thousands of computer fifes were at risk israeli officials suggested a Friday the 13h" coincidence but Hakavy said the Sims was coded to ignore nov. 13.1937. At the Lime of Iho infection the Reali press quoted Many israeli computer executives who spoke of panic among customers and Peers. That concern is still being voiced because infected programs remain in circulation. Richard Schwartz a vice president of Ansa Borland International inc., a software company in Belmont Calif said he was visiting Israel at the end of the year and was Given software samples by an israeli program mar. Days later he said the Programmer called warning Hal the program contained the israeli virus. We were going to play Wilh the virus Here said Schwartz. Just to see How it worked. But i finally decided to just shred the disk i just did l want to Lake any risk. The thus discovered Ai Lehigh uni Cisily in december was typical of others thai have Surla cd in the United Stales it Allach cd itself to a few lines of the operating system used on the ism pcs that the College provides for student use. It then counted the number of new magnetic memories hard or floppy disks Hal in infected. When Tho count reached of. It immediately erased All programs and data it could reach it was Prelly juvenile coding said Kenneth Van Wyk a Lehigh administrator but students May have lost a lot of  another University based virus raised More questions buried within inc code of the virus discovered a the University of Delaware was an apparent Ransom demand computer users who discovered the virus were told to Send 12,000 to an address to Pakistan to obtain an immunity program according to Harold Highland an egmont n �. Consultant who studies viruses. The Pakistan Contact was nol Idun Lifred. It s like a fantasy of being a terrorist without to Hood said Erie Corley editor of a National Hacker newsletter 2600. Whoso electronic bulletin Board was infected on a More theoretical level viruses could provide weapons in corporals infighting and could affect production the classic scenario is a vice president using a thus to taint the programs and tools the company president uses to plan and make projections hoping to make him look bad and replace  Cohen said. The same potential exists among comp Chang executives or competing companies one company could in decl the process controller a comp Tilor uses to govern sheol production Wilt Iho Resuli thai the steel would be of inferior Grade thai son of Subtle sabotage could to very very Dill cull to recognize concern about Tho viruses has spread Well beyond the computer Industry. Cilicia is at several affected colleges said they had. Been contacted by a representative irom the National Security Agency the pc lagon Agency responsible for the Security of classified government computer systems and  spying abroad and asked for details about virus codes. Since 1985. The is a and various military groups have sponsored several unpublicized and often classified  about the risk of virus attacks at government computer installations. The stars and stripes Page is