Are viruses still a threat to cybersecurity?

Viruses were once the top cybersecurity threat globally, but is it still the case? How common were viruses once and are they still dangerous today?

Where do computer viruses start?

The history of computer viruses goes back to the early 1970s. In 1971, a virus called "Creeper" was developed and tested to see how it worked as a malicious program. Because this is a controlled virus, Creeper has no access to the outside world.

The first computer virus to infect devices in the real world appeared in 1982 and was named "Elk Cloner". This virus was created by a high school student as a joke to his friends, but exists in an uncontrolled environment.

Elk Cloner was the first virus, and its reach eventually extended far beyond its creator and his group of friends. However, it doesn't do much damage due to its limited ability. After all, Elk Cloner is only designed as a prank and in no way performs malicious activities on infected devices.

Others argue that the program called "Brain" is the first computer virus in the wild. Brain used floppy disks as an infection medium and was first discovered infecting devices in 1986, four years after creating Elk Cloner. Brain used executable code to infect the boot sector of the floppy disk, then infect the computer after the disk was inserted. The virus infected more than 100,000 computers, a really large number at the time.

However, Brain doesn't do much other than slow down the drive's performance. It was not until the 21st century that viruses showed their true abilities. In 2000, a virus called "ILOVEYOU" caused havoc when it infected more than 10 million Windows PCs.

Viruses that spread via email were extremely common even in 2000. Unlike the viruses previously discussed, ILOVEYOU is capable of deleting files on infected devices.

Over the next decade, many other viruses appeared and disappeared, including Slammer, CodeRed, and MyDoom. MyDoom remains the fastest spreading email virus in history and still exists today. It was even found to be used in a malicious email campaign in 2019, 15 years after it was first used.

But will the virus still pose the same dangers as before? How do these programs threaten today's cybersecurity?

How dangerous are computer viruses today?

While viruses were once the deadliest form of cyberbullying, this is no longer the case. In the early 2010s, the prevalence of computer viruses began to decline, with some of the most recent major virus campaigns including Stuxnet, SpyEye, and W32.Dozer.

After this point, the virus begins to move into a new phase in the field of cybersecurity. But why?

The main reason why viruses are no longer a major threat is technological advancements. The antivirus programs available for use in the early 2000s were vastly different from those we use today, higher detection rates over time, extra features, and better service overall.

Viruses are not extremely complex programs and therefore not very large. As in the biological world, viruses need a "host" for them to replicate. Since they need to sneak into a program, typical viruses should be quite small. This leaves little room for additional encryption to give viruses complex capabilities.

Also, a lot of viruses follow a similar script, meaning they're usually nothing new to antivirus programs. Ransomware, spyware, Trojan horses and similar malware are most commonly used today and are the ones that really pose a threat to our computers and smartphones.

These malware programs can be very sophisticated and are sometimes designed to completely evade anti-virus software. In general, viruses are simply not as dangerous as modern day malware, which is why viruses are not used as much as they used to be.

In particular, ransomware became a major cybercrime trend during the 2010s. This form of malware encrypts the files of an infected device and warns the victim that the files will only be decrypted if the victim pays the ransom. Some common examples of ransomware include WannaCry, LockBit, Jigsaw, and Bad Rabbit.

A lot of ransomware creators get their malware from Ransomware-As-A-Service platforms, where the ransomware is sold to third-party cybercriminals for money. This makes it easier for the less tech-savvy bad guys to access the ransomware, not just seasoned hackers.

Obviously, there are more pressing cybersecurity concerns these days than viruses. But viruses are not entirely a thing of the past. As mentioned before, the once formidable MyDoom virus was discovered in 2019. In this case, MyDoom was spread through a phishing email campaign.

Although viruses are no longer a cause for concern today, they are still in use and this is important to keep in mind.

Do we still need anti-virus software?

The term "virus removal" has evolved over the years. While antivirus programs were once created to stop viruses, they can now detect and remove other types of malware.

As you may already know, malware is a global problem that affects thousands of victims every month. In fact, Statista reported that 560,000 new malware are discovered by cybersecurity teams every day, which equates to nearly 17 million malware detected each month.

Statista also reports that malware attacks have increased by 87% over the past decade. These two statistics alone show how serious the malware problem has become. So you still need an antivirus program to protect your device from cybercriminals.

It's best to choose a reputable antivirus program that has proven useful in avoiding viruses and malware. Installing a random free antivirus is not the wisest way, as you may be facing superficial protection or even a malicious program disguised as antivirus.

Some of the top antivirus programs available include:

1. McAfee.
2. Kaspersky.
3. Norton.
4. Bitdefender.
5. Malwarebytes.

If you are extremely concerned about cyber attacks, you can use anti-virus and anti-malware programs simultaneously to further increase your security integrity. Anti-malware programs can detect and remove more sophisticated types of malware, such as those designed to evade detection by anti-virus software.

Micah Soto

Update 24 July 2023