What Is a Source Code Virus?
A source code virus is a computer virus that attacks source code to corrupt it in some way. It may render a program or operating system unusable, hijack a machine for a given purpose, or generate errors on the system. Viruses of this nature are relatively rare, but can be found in the wild and are sometimes difficult to combat because source code is often not human readable and thus can be hard to repair. Source code provides the underpinning of programs, applications, and operating systems. Viruses themselves are programs or fragments of code that infect computers, usually with a malicious purpose like service disruption or compromise of confidential material in mind. In the case of a source code virus, the virus attacks the source code of one or more computer components, rather than running as its own program. Programmers need a reasonable level of skill to develop a source code virus because they have to be able to alter source code. This requires knowledge of programming languages
