The long read: Bulgaria in the 1980s became known as the ‘virus factory’, where hundreds of malicious computer programs were unleashed to wreak havoc. But who was writing them, and why?
Bulgaria in the 1980s became known as the ‘virus factory’, where hundreds of malicious computer programs were unleashed to wreak havoc. But who was writing them, and why?for virus lovers. The socialist country – plagued by hyperinflation, crumbling infrastructure, food and petrol rationing, daily blackouts and packs of wild dogs in its streets – had become one of the hottest hi-tech zones on the planet.
When Bontchev wrote this dismissive article, he had not yet seen a virus. He was very surprised when two men walked into Computer for You’s office, where he used to hang out, and claimed to have a virus. They had read the articles about these strange new creatures in the magazine and wanted to show Bontchev the virus they had discovered in their small software company. The men not only reported that they had a virus; they also claimed to have written an antivirus program that eliminated it.
As the weeks went by, Prevalsky added new features to the virus. He also experimented with antivirus programs. All of Prevalsky’s creations were “zoo” viruses, specimens built for research purposes, not for releasing into the wild. Nevertheless, they escaped from the zoo. Indeed, a version of Vienna became the first Bulgarian virus to immigrate to the US.
readers learned how to write viruses from these articles, and some tried to improve existing versions. By 1991, Bontchev was finding two new Bulgarian viruses a week. He spent his days fielding calls from firms attacked by viruses; he spent his nights and weekends studying these viruses. Bontchev was also a founding member of the Computer Antivirus Research Organization . Caro advocated for certain ethical principles of antivirus research. One of the most important was the strict prohibition of writing viruses. Caro treated computer viruses like biological weapons.
Dark Avenger’s ‘Eddie’ virus referred to the skeletal mascot of the band Iron Maiden, as featured on the cover of their 1986 album, Somewhere in Time.Dark Avenger was proud of his cruel creation and claimed credit in the code. First, he inserted an ironic copyright notice: “This program was written in the city of Sofia 1988–89 Dark Avenger.” The “Eddie lives” string that wreaked such destruction was a tribute to his love of heavy metal music.
Dark Avenger quickly achieved notoriety in the Bulgarian computer-virus community. No one knew his identity or anything about him, adding to his mystique. According to David Stang, the research director at the International Virus Research Center, “His work is elegant … he helps younger programmers. He’s a superhero to many of them.”
As Gordon attempted to figure out what had infected her computer, she logged on to FidoNet, the network that connected the virus exchanges. Virus writers swore a lot and traded malware like baseball cards, but she noticed that one user was treated with reverence – Dark Avenger. But that was not all. The virus that Dark Avenger wrote was ensconced within another piece of malware that he also built. This program was a “polymorphic virus engine”, a tool for creating mutated viruses that threatened to vanquish all antivirus software. When viruses emerged from Dark Avenger’s mutation engine, their altered genome was unrecognisable by the existing detectors. Even worse, it was an off-the-shelf program that anyone with a virus could use.
Dark Avenger and Bontchev developed a codependent relationship. Each needed the other for notoriety, so much so that rumours began circulating that Dark Avenger and Vesselin Bontchev were the same person. Gossips claimed that Dark Avenger was Bontchev’s “sockpuppet”, a deceptive online identity. Many of those who did not believe the rumours, however, thought that Bontchev was unnecessarily antagonistic, publicly taunting and provoking Dark Avenger to lash out with even greater rage.
Sarah Gordon: Some time ago, in the FidoNet virus echo, when you were told one of your viruses was responsible for the deaths of thousands, possibly, you responded with an obscenity. Let’s assume for the moment this story is true. Tell me, if one of your viruses was used by someone else to cause a tragic incident, how would you really feel?
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