Natas (computer virus)

Natas (Satan spelled backwards) is a virus written by James Gentile, a then-18-year-old hacker from San Diego, California who went by the alias of "Little Loc" and later "Priest". It is a memory-resident stealth virus that is highly polymorphic.^[1] The virus first appeared in Mexico City in May 1992, spread by a consultant using infected floppy disks. The virus became widespread in Mexico and the southwest United States. The virus also made its way to the other side of the USA, infecting computers at the United States Secret Service knocking their network offline for approximately three days. This led to an investigation of Priest and incorrect suspicion that the virus specifically targeted government computers.

Natas also infected computers in Canada, England and Russian Federation.

Sources

• Natas