# Morris Worm > **Machine-Evolution Nexus:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution]] places this node within the history and governance of substrate-independent evolution. **Domain:** Cybersecurity / Self-Replication **Doc Type:** Canonical Wiki Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition The Morris Worm was a self-replicating program released on November 2, 1988 that spread through vulnerabilities in networked Unix systems and repeatedly reinfected machines. ## Nexus Context The FBI estimates it affected about 6,000 of roughly 60,000 connected computers. Its replication mechanics produced network-wide damage beyond the author’s stated aim. ## Evidence Boundary It was not a Darwinian population: there was no demonstrated lineage of competing inherited variants. It is evidence about replication risk, not consciousness or intentional malice by code. ## Relationships [[wiki/Robert Tappan Morris|Robert Tappan Morris]], [[wiki/Computer Worm|Computer Worm]], [[wiki/Internet|Internet]], [[wiki/Self-Replication|Self-Replication]] ## Sources / Provenance - Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Morris Worm”; United States v. Morris.