Unlike the AI systems of most sentient constructs, Sabotage wasn't designed to inhabit a single body. Sabotage was designed to spread like a virus, infesting systems and commandeering any robotic systems it comes across.
— Flavour Text for Sabotage, Legacy of a Thousand Suns
Dr Gavin Archer: My brother David volunteered to serve as a test subject, but his mind couldn't handle the VI connection. He's like a virus, now, infecting our networks and seizing control of any technology he finds. It's why you had to destroy the dish - imagine if his program got off-world!
Commander Shepard: What's the worst-case scenario?
Dr Gavin Archer: A technological apocalypse. Every machine, every weapon, every computer could be turned against us. If he hit the extranet, who knows where it would end?