Malware Distribution

Malware distribution is the offense of creating, deploying or spreading malicious software, code written to damage, disable, gain unauthorized access to, or otherwise compromise a computer system or network without the owner's consent, covering a wide range of software types including viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware and spyware. The offense generally reaches multiple stages of conduct, the creation of the malicious code, its deliberate transmission or planting on a target system, such as through a deceptive email attachment or a compromised download, and often a further unlawful act the malware is designed to carry out once installed, such as stealing data, encrypting files for ransom, or covertly recruiting the infected device into a larger network of compromised machines. Because malware can spread automatically once released, a single act of distribution can affect a very large number of victim systems with no further action by the offender, which most legal systems treat as an aggravating factor when malware distribution is charged and sentenced. Malware distribution is closely related to, and often charged alongside, the separate offenses of computer hacking, where the malware serves as the tool of unauthorized access, and ransomware extortion, where the malware's specific purpose is to enable a ransom demand, though malware distribution itself is defined by the act of creating and spreading the harmful code rather than by any one downstream use of it.