On November 2, 1988, the Morris worm is launched on the Internet. Developed by Cornell University graduate student Robert Morris, the worm was supposedly originally intended to gauge the size of the internet. The danger of the worm came about due to how it was programmed to spread. In order to circumvent possible attempts to block it, the worm was designed to copy itself 1 out of every 7 times even if it had determined that it had already infected the system. This resulted in it not only overwhelming individual machines but also entire networks as it spread rapidly, infecting and reinfecting systems.

The Morris worm was one of the first of its kind and the first to gain significant attention in the media. Estimates for the costs of repairing the damage done ranged from $200 to $53,000 per machine, with total damage estimates ranging from $100,000 to ~$10,000,000. The costs and dangers highlighted by the worm also led the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency within the US Department of Defense, to establish CERT/CC (Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center) to deal with and prepare for such matters. As for Robert Morris himself, he was tried and convicted for violating Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and was sentenced to three years probation, 400 hours of community service, and a $10,050 fine plus costs of his supervision.