What was the name of the first significant computer worm on the internet?

The Morris worm was the first significant computer worm on the Internet. Released on November 2, 1988, it was created by Cornell graduate student Robert Tappan Morris and spread across Unix systems connected to the early Internet.

The program exploited weaknesses in several widely used services, including sendmail, the finger daemon, and trusted remote-login mechanisms. Morris reportedly intended to measure the size of the network rather than cause major damage, but a replication safeguard made the worm copy itself too often. Infected machines slowed dramatically or became unusable.

The worm became a landmark because it was among the first Internet incidents to receive major public attention. It also led to important changes in computer security: DARPA funded the creation of the CERT Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University to coordinate responses to network emergencies.

The Morris worm is sometimes described as the first computer worm, but that wording needs care. Earlier experimental worms existed, including Creeper on ARPANET in 1971. Morris is the canonical answer when the question asks for the first significant worm on the Internet, especially one with broad operational and legal consequences.