Tom Longstaff
Director of R & D, CERT

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In March 1999 the MELISSA VIRUS wreaked more than $350 million in damage to computer systems worldwide. In May 2000 the Love Bug racked up more than $1 billion. Viruses are getting worse every year. But for all our experience in being hammered by them, we still aren't very good at stopping them. And if history is any guide, the next one will be a nightmare. Just ask Tom Longstaff; he has these kinds of nightmares every day.

Longstaff is the director of research and development at the CERT Coordination Center, a Pentagon-funded security research group that was formed after the infamous "Morris Worm" virus devastated the Internet back in 1988. Longstaff's job is to prepare for worst-case scenarios, and the next supervirus ranks high on his list. "I'm absolutely sure something like the Love Bug will happen again." With these insidious little programs starting to pop up on pdas and cell phones, and spreading through chat and file-sharing programs as well as via e-mail, the question is no longer "if" but "when."

Indeed, the next Love Bug could be "equivalent to an Internet Pearl Harbor," says Longstaff. "Something aimed not at the end-user PC but at the fabric of the Internet itself — routers and servers." Not dramatic enough? Try this one. "Think of the Love Bug virus, but one that doesn't do any damage at first, so there are no outward signs of it. It's so slow that it doesn't overload the Internet; then it propagates over 60%, 70% of machines until, finally, it goes off all at once like a time bomb."

Kids, don't try this at home. Please.

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