On May 4, 2000, many computers received an e-mail. It was an apparent declaration of love with hidden intentions. After overcoming the dreaded 2000 effect, a virus caused millions of dollars in damage after infect approximately 50 million computers, 10 percent of all devices with an Internet connection at that time. This computer worm arrived through an email message with the subject ILOVEYOU and an attachment that pretended to be a love letter. Opening it infected the computer and forwarded itself to all user contacts. Its creator is 44 years old today and has explained what were your motivations to create this threat.
Onel de Guzmán lives in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, and runs a mobile repair shop. A BBC News journalist
But it only took a few hours to infect thousands of computers in Asia, Europe and North America and soon there were millions. Faster than the 1999 Mellisa virus. affected even the Pentagon and the British Parliament, who shut down his email network for hours to protect himself. The local police found the origin of the virus at Onel Guzmán's house and on May 11, 2000, accompanied by his lawyer, he recognized that he had spread the virus by accident
As his lawyer explained, "He didn't even know that his actions would actually lead to the reported results"