WANK (computer worm)

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The WANK Worm was a computer worm that attacked DEC VMS computers in 1989 over the DECnet.

[edit] Political message

The WANK worm had a distinct political message attached, and it was the first major worm to have a political message.^[1] WANK in this context stands for Worms Against Nuclear Killers.

W O R M S    A G A I N S T    N U C L E A R    K I L L E R S
 _______________________________________________________________
 \__  ____________  _____    ________    ____  ____   __  _____/
  \ \ \    /\    / /    / /\ \       | \ \  | |    | | / /    /
   \ \ \  /  \  / /    / /__\ \      | |\ \ | |    | |/ /    /
    \ \ \/ /\ \/ /    / ______ \     | | \ \| |    | |\ \   /
     \_\  /__\  /____/ /______\ \____| |__\ | |____| |_\ \_/
      \___________________________________________________/
       \                                                 /
        \    Your System Has Been Officically WANKed    /
         \_____________________________________________/
 
  You talk of times of peace for all, and then prepare for war.

It did not attack computers within the DEC area 48, which was New Zealand. It is thought that this was because New Zealand was a nuclear free zone.^[2]

[edit] Origin

It is thought to have been created by Melbourne hackers, the first to be created by an Australian or Australians. ^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

Father Christmas (computer worm)

[edit] External links

• CERT advisory
• Another advisory
• Underground. A freely available online book which contains a lot of information about the worm
• Article that includes information about the worm
• Hacktivism and Politically Motivated Computer Crime, written by one of the Digital Equipment Corporation investigators, disputes the WANK worm had any political motivation but was rather a play on the British meaning of the word "wank".

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