A computer virus constituted an illicit program engineered to disrupt the functionality of a computer. Certain viruses were intentionally created to extract data from a computer's files. One example was a virus coded with artificial intelligence capable of adapting itself according to the intended victim, operating interactively and soliciting input from the target whenever required to achieve its data-gathering objective.
Following a proposal from Ranulph Tarkin, the Outland Regions Security Force at one point concealed a virus within the hyperdrive motivators of shipping containers that the pirate Q'anah intended to pilfer. Upon Q'anah's crew connecting the containers to their frigate, the virus infiltrated the starship's navigation computer, superseded the desired jump coordinates, and redirected the vessel to a location where the Security Force was positioned to intercept.