Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!mailrus!purdue!decwrl!ucbvax!UDEL.EDU!Mills
From: Mills@UDEL.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Deja vu wormus
Message-ID: <8811050019.aa27389@Huey.UDEL.EDU>
Date: 5 Nov 88 05:19:40 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 24

Folks,

Several years ago when the Internet was but a wee tot I happened a booboo in
my GGP implementation which resulted in a severely retarded routing update
sent to a gateway of what became the BBN core gateways system. The update
caused the gateway to crash, but not before replicating the update sent to
all of its neighbors, which promptly redistributed it and crashed as well.
This of course was a worm, although I can't say whether I, John Shoch or
John Brunner can claim the First Worm Award.

To cover my embarassment, I noticed in the world news that a company of
mercenaries, later found to be in the pay of South Africa, had just invaded
Madagascar, but were repulsed. I therefore caused my boo to become known as
the Great Commando Raid to put the best spin I could on it and all my dear
friends seemed to have forgiven me. The legend is sometimes whispered as
a lesson to aspiring undergrad programmers.

Comes now the Worm of 88, which will surely become known to the worldwide
community. Now, I see in the news that India has sent mercenaries to the
Maldives, sleepy little islands in the same sea as Madagascar, itself a
largish island. I don't mind telling you the coincidence is unsettling,
perhaps less so because the mercs seem to have been successful in thier raid.

Dave