The Nation - News from Aug. 3, 1989

A suspended graduate student accused of creating a computer “worm” that paralyzed an estimated 6,000 military and research computers last year pleaded innocent to a federal crime. Robert T. Morris, 24, of Arnold, Md., entered his plea before U.S. Magistrate Gustave DiBianco in Syracuse, N.Y. He was released on his own recognizance. The suspended Cornell University graduate student was charged last week with a single count of gaining unauthorized access to computers, preventing authorized access to computers and causing losses in excess of $1,000 under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986. According to prosecutors, Morris’ worm program clogged a computer network shared by colleges, research centers and the military. It took several days to eliminate the worm, a program that copies itself after being introduced into a computer system.