Stephen Downes

This article recounts the history of the Morris Worm (which, in 1988, was simply 'the worm). The history is interesting; the security lessons are essential (quoted or paraphrased):

• good security practice involves fully mediated access (aka "Zero Trust")
• systems without separation of privilege facilitated the spread of malware
• sharing information across organizations lads to a more robust timely response
• type-unsafe languages with minimal security features can lead to exploits
• heterogenity of systems provides some bulwark against common attacks
• not everything that can be done should be done