Google in Málaga: The Spanish Virus Story
The Man Who Hunted His First Virus Creator
This article tells the story of Bernardo Quintero, the founder of VirusTotal (later acquired by Google), and his decades-long quest to find the creator of the ”Virus Malaga,” a relatively harmless malware program that sparked his passion for cybersecurity.
Here’s a breakdown of the key points:
* The Origin Story: In 1992, Quintero, a university student, was tasked with creating an antivirus for the Virus Malaga, which had spread through Málaga’s Polytechnic School. This challenge ignited his interest in cybersecurity.
* VirusTotal & Google: Quintero founded VirusTotal, a malware scanning service, which was acquired by Google in 2012. This acquisition established Google’s European cybersecurity center in Málaga, turning the city into a tech hub.
* The Search: Driven by nostalgia and gratitude, Quintero recently embarked on a search to identify the virus’s creator, leveraging media outreach and revisiting the virus’s code.
* The Clues: He found fragments of a signature within the code, eventually leading to the message “KIKESOYYO” (“I am Kike,” a nickname for Enrique).
* The Revelation: A man contacted Quintero claiming to have witnessed the virus’s creation by a classmate. Crucially, this individual knew a hidden detail about the virus – its payload contained a condemnation of the Basque terrorist group ETA – a detail Quintero had never publicly revealed.
* Return to Tinkering: Quintero temporarily stepped down from his management role at Google to dedicate himself to this investigation, returning to a more hands-on, experimental approach to cybersecurity.
The article highlights the serendipitous nature of Quintero’s career path and the lasting impact of a seemingly insignificant piece of malware. It’s a story about passion, curiosity, and the power of a challenge to shape a life.