In the 90s, the threat of computer viruses it was constantly growing, but a few episodes aroused a global alarm as the one linked to Michelangelo virusdesigned to infect the systems Ms-dos. Discovered in 1991This malware has attracted unprecedented attention to that moment due to its alleged destructive capacity and its planned activation for a specific date: the March 6th of each year, the day of the birthday of the Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti. Unlike other viruses that limited themselves to showing messages or causing small inconveniences, Michelangelo had a precise and devastating goal: Delete data from infected computers by overwriting the critical sectors of the hard drive. Its way of diffusion exploited i floppy diskat the time widely used (now almost completely disappeared), allowing him to propagate himself silently among the computers of the time.
Some computer analysts and experts, including the controversial John McAfeecatastrophic estimates advanced according to which millions of computers were inexorably affected by the virus, causing enormous losses. When the fateful March 6, 1992 It came, the actual damage was much lower than the expectations and the propagation of the infection was somewhat contained. The Michelangelo case showed how easy it was to feed panic (not that today things are then so differently) and how crucial to adopt a more scientific approach in the evaluation of computer threats. At the same time, the Michelangelo case accepted the spread of antivirus software and increased awareness of the importance of cybersecurity, leaving a legacy that still influences the way we face digital threats.
The fear of an “computer apocalypse”
Although the IT viruses were already present for years (the first virus we have news, Elk Clonerwas developed in 1982 from the 15 -year -old Richard Skretro), Michelangelo distinguished himself for his destructive potential and for the speed with which he managed to spread. Unlike more modern threats that exploit the Internet, this virus spread through physical supports, in particular through the Floppy Disk start -up sector. When a computer was turned on with an infected disc, the virus loaded into memory and was installed in the start of the hard drive start, infecting any other floppy inserted in the system. This diffusion method was extremely effective in an era in which the sharing of floppy disk was a very common practice.
Michelangelo’s discovery took place in 1991 thanks to Roger Rordanan Australian IT security expert. Riordan noted that the virus was a variant of another malware known as Stonedwhich limited himself to showing the message “Your PC is now Stoned!»When the computer is turned on. Michelangelo was decidedly more insidious: he did not give any signal of his presence until the predetermined date, when the first hundred sectors of the hard disk overwhelmed with null datamaking access to files impossible. Without the appropriate tools, the restoration of information was almost impossible for ordinary users.
The news of Michelangelo’s discovery spread quickly among the security experts, but the real alarm took place in the following months, when the Virus began to be detected on several computers all over the world. In the January 1992it was discovered that hundreds of PCs sold by the US company Leading Edge They had been distributed with the virus already present in their records! Other producers also found themselves facing similar situations, feeding the fear that the March 6, 1992 It could be transformed into a “black” day for the history of computer science. The media, fascinated by the idea of a “digital contagion” with a precise deadline, contributed to creating a real media case, amplifying the most pessimistic forecasts.
In this climate of growing alarm, computer security companies exploited the opportunity to promote their products. John McAfeefounder of the homonymous antivirus company, was among the most active in launching warnings on the possible consequences of Michelangelo, coming to estimate that one ‘infection spread over 5 million computers. These statements pushed many users to look for solutions to protect their data, making the sales of antivirus software impose.
What happened on March 6, 1992
The March 6, 1992 He arrived between expectations and fears. The first reports from Asia and Australia indicated that the impact of the virus had been limited, but the Western media anxiously attest to the reports from Europe and the United States. During the day, some companies and institutions reported malfunctions attributed to Michelangelo, but nothing that approached the “computer apocalypse” feared in the previous weeks. At the end of the day, theAssociated Press And other printing agencies published articles that reduced the incident. According to the new estimates, the real number of affected computers was around 10 or 20 thousand unitsa figure far from the forecasts made by Macafee and Company. To pull the sums a little, we can say that Michelangelo did not destroy the digital world, but he taught an important lesson: in the world of cybersecurity, fear can spread faster than the viruses themselves. And, as we would have seen years later with the Millennium Bug, the announced disaster does not always turn into reality.
