This happened in 1999 when People were still adjusting to using email on a regular basis, and Microsoft Outlook had only been around for a few years. A Programmer named David Lee Smith decided to capitalize on the confusion surrounding the internet and email when he created the first successful email-aware computer virus. The malware called the Melissa virus was one of the first to get public attention because it caused more than $80 million in damage.

How it Happened

On March 26, it began spreading like wildfire across the Internet.

The Melissa virus, unlike infections that came later, did not damage individual computers, according to a BBC news report from 1999. Instead, the virus spread via infected Word documents. Disguised as an important message from someone they know, email users would receive messages like, “Here is that document you asked for … don’t show anyone else ;-)”. Users would then open the attached document, usually named LIST.DOC. The malware then forwarded itself to the first 50 people in an infected user’s Microsoft Outlook address book, further spreading the infection in the process.

Think about that chain reaction for a second: Each infected computer had the ability to infect 50 more computers. On top of that, many of the email addresses found on people’s computers were actually groups of other email addresses, so it was often more than just one person being emailed.

The virus was not intended to steal money or information, but it wreaked plenty of havoc nonetheless. Email servers at more than 300 corporations and government agencies worldwide became overloaded, and some had to be shut down entirely, including Microsoft. Approximately one million email accounts were disrupted, and Internet traffic in some locations slowed to a crawl.

How it was Rescued

Within a few days, cyber security experts had mostly contained the spread of the virus and restored the functionality of their networks, although it took some time to remove the infections entirely. Along with its investigative role, the FBI sent out warnings about the virus and its effects, helping to alert the public and reduce the destructive impacts of the attack. Still, the collective damage was enormous: an estimated $80 million for the cleanup and repair of affected computer systems.

Finding the culprit didn’t take long; Authorities traced the electronic fingerprints of the virus to Smith, who was arrested in northeastern New Jersey on April 1, 1999, at His brother's house. Smith pleaded guilty in December 1999 but said that He never intended to cause any harm with the virus, in May 2002, he was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison and fined $5,000. He also agreed to cooperate with federal and state authorities.

The Lasting Impact of the Melissa Virus

As shown through the many recent data breaches of sensitive information (such as the attacks on Yahoo, the Democratic National Convention, Facebook, PayPal, Netflix, and more), cybercrime is one of the most threatening forms of crime in our current time.

The Melissa virus considered the fastest spreading infection at the time, was a rude awakening to the dark side of the web for many Americans. Awareness of the danger of opening unsolicited email attachments began to grow, along with the reality of online viruses and the damage they can do.

For the FBI and its colleagues, the virus was a warning sign of a major germinating threat and of the need to quickly ramp up its cyber capabilities and partnerships.

Fittingly, a few months after Smith was sentenced, the Bureau put in place its new national Cyber Division focused exclusively on online crimes, with resources and programs devoted to protecting America’s electronic networks from harm.

However, the unexpected is that Melissa made computer users more aware of what could be hacked and attacked and forced both individual users and the federal government to deal with those possibilities.