ILOVEYOU Virus

Overview

Case Overview

ILOVEYOU was a mass-mailing VBScript worm that began spreading on May 4, 2000 through Microsoft Outlook with the subject "ILOVEYOU" and the attachment "LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs." It copied itself through address books, overwrote files, and attempted to steal internet-access credentials, causing worldwide disruption across governments, businesses, and personal computers. Philippine investigators centered public suspicion on Onel de Guzman and associates, but the case exposed a legal gap that prevented a straightforward criminal adjudication at the time; it later became a landmark in the history of social engineering, malware response, and cybercrime law reform.