This installment of Tech Time Warp looks back as the fast‑approaching 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident—along with a new report on damage to the defunct facility’s outer protective structure—calls to mind an anniversary in malware history.
The fast-approaching 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident—plus a new report on damage to the defunct facility’s outer protective structure—call to mind an anniversary in malware history. Twenty-six years ago, a variant of the CIH virus, Chernobyl, was time to release its devastating payload on the anniversary of the nuclear disaster.
The day malware mimicked disaster
The Chernobyl virus was the first virus known to damage computer hardware. Its parent virus, CIH, was first detected in 1998, but the payload was initially triggered on April 26, 1999. Most other CIH variants activated their payloads on the 26th of the month.
CIH was called a “space filler” virus because once a machine was infected, the CIH code would “split up” to fill available file space. This capability helped the malware avoid detection as many viruses are discovered because they take up so much file space. CIH hid in the background, waiting to release its payload. Chernobyl infected a computer’s basic input/output system or BIOS, rendering it unable to start up. Machines running Windows 95 and Windows 98 with Intel 430TX chipset motherboards were most susceptible.
CIH was the handiwork of Taiwanese computer engineering student Chen Ing-Hau, who included his initials in the malware’s code. When the virus was initially discovered at his university, Chen was disciplined but not expelled. This was reportedly because he had warned other students about spreading the virus.
Damage from the Chernobyl virus was most acute in Asia and the Middle East. A warning issued by Carnegie Mellon University’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) helped mitigate damage in the United States and Europe.
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Photo: Cagkan Sayin / Shutterstock
