How a Spanish virus brought Google to Málaga
TechCrunch••technology
Key Points:
- Bernardo Quintero, founder of VirusTotal, spent 33 years searching for the creator of Virus Málaga, a mostly harmless computer virus that inspired his cybersecurity career and led to Google establishing a cybersecurity center in Málaga.
- Quintero’s investigation uncovered a hidden signature in the virus pointing to "Kike," a nickname for Enrique, and a tip from a former classmate identified the creator as Antonio Enrique Astorga, who had passed away from cancer.
- Astorga’s virus carried an anti-terrorist message against the Basque group ETA and was intended to showcase his programming skills; he later became a computing teacher honored by having an IT classroom named after him.
- The legacy of Astorga continues through his students and his son Sergio,
