Grace Hooper, the mother of modern programming, was born on 9 December 1906. The day is celebrated as International Computer Science Day or what many celebrate as International Informatics Day. On this December 9, here’s a look at some key milestones or landmarks in the field of cybersecurity.
1990: Creeper marks the advent of computer virus
In 1971, researcher Bob Thomas developed the first virus called Creeper. This malware moved through the ARPANET (as this first network would be called), and sent a message to infected devices saying: “I’m the creeper, catch me if you can”. In response, Ray Tomlinson, the creator of email, developed a program called Reaper that tried to track down and eliminate the creepers. The idea of cybersecurity would begin at this time and the program developed by Ray Tomlinson would be considered the first antivirus. The 1980s saw a boom in malware and they multiplied exponentially. At the time, they were mostly annoying because they emitted chain messages, but there was still no desire to make money from such practices. In response, in 1987 John McAfee founded McAfee and launched VirusScan software, and so antivirus started to exist commercially.
2000: “I love you” virus took down millions of PCs across the world
The new millennium began with the fear generated by the Y2K problem: that the computer systems were faulty because the dates in the programs omitted the centurion. They feared that with the change of the millennium, all the dates would be wrong and this would lead to failures and serious damage in all countries. There were indeed serious losses and misconfigurations at the turn of the millennium, but what this situation really told us was that society was becoming dependent on technology. At the time, there was no awareness of the real damage that could be done through the network. This was to change with the notorious Loveletter phishing virus, also known as “I love you”, which would spread in just five hours across computers in Asia, Europe and America. This virus generated economic damage valued at 10 billion euros.
Users received an email with the subject “I love you” and attached to it was a file “LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs”. When opened, the virus would run on the computer automatically and grab all the e-mail addresses in the inbox to continue spreading, and make all files on the PC malicious. Numerous government groups were also affected by this virus.
2017: Ransomware emerges as a threat globally with WannaCry, data on millions of PCs across the world lost
In the early 2000s, ransomware attacks began to emerge in an increasingly sophisticated form. It was in 2017 that the cyberattack known as WannaCry occurred: a state-sponsored attack that spread internationally. WannaCry did not make a huge difference in terms of profitability, as the ransom was only $300, but it did mark the beginning of the political use of ransomware.
2022: Cyberattacks get ‘AI edge’ with deepfake videos
Artificial Intelligence is marking a turning point in the evolution of cyberattacks, as this type of technology allows threats to be more frequent, faster, and more effective. Techniques such as deepfake are managing to reliably impersonate relevant identities and companies to steal information, phishing attacks are becoming more convincing, and new variants of ransomware and malware are developing rapidly and more cost-effectively. As cybercriminals’ techniques progress rapidly, cybersecurity is also using AI to refine its defensive methods to keep pace.
“It is shocking to see the speed at which we have developed the entire cyber complex: from the creation of the internet, the spread of increasingly complex malware and the consequent development of cybersecurity. But even more impressive is the thought of what is to come”, explains Sundar Balasubramanian, Managing Director, Check Point Software Technologies India & SAARC. “Artificial Intelligence has opened a new door in the technological era and is generating serious threats, but also sophisticated protection methods and technical breakthroughs. We are only seeing the beginning of major shifts in the technological and global paradigm”.
(With agency inputs)
1990: Creeper marks the advent of computer virus
In 1971, researcher Bob Thomas developed the first virus called Creeper. This malware moved through the ARPANET (as this first network would be called), and sent a message to infected devices saying: “I’m the creeper, catch me if you can”. In response, Ray Tomlinson, the creator of email, developed a program called Reaper that tried to track down and eliminate the creepers. The idea of cybersecurity would begin at this time and the program developed by Ray Tomlinson would be considered the first antivirus. The 1980s saw a boom in malware and they multiplied exponentially. At the time, they were mostly annoying because they emitted chain messages, but there was still no desire to make money from such practices. In response, in 1987 John McAfee founded McAfee and launched VirusScan software, and so antivirus started to exist commercially.
2000: “I love you” virus took down millions of PCs across the world
The new millennium began with the fear generated by the Y2K problem: that the computer systems were faulty because the dates in the programs omitted the centurion. They feared that with the change of the millennium, all the dates would be wrong and this would lead to failures and serious damage in all countries. There were indeed serious losses and misconfigurations at the turn of the millennium, but what this situation really told us was that society was becoming dependent on technology. At the time, there was no awareness of the real damage that could be done through the network. This was to change with the notorious Loveletter phishing virus, also known as “I love you”, which would spread in just five hours across computers in Asia, Europe and America. This virus generated economic damage valued at 10 billion euros.
Users received an email with the subject “I love you” and attached to it was a file “LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs”. When opened, the virus would run on the computer automatically and grab all the e-mail addresses in the inbox to continue spreading, and make all files on the PC malicious. Numerous government groups were also affected by this virus.
2017: Ransomware emerges as a threat globally with WannaCry, data on millions of PCs across the world lost
In the early 2000s, ransomware attacks began to emerge in an increasingly sophisticated form. It was in 2017 that the cyberattack known as WannaCry occurred: a state-sponsored attack that spread internationally. WannaCry did not make a huge difference in terms of profitability, as the ransom was only $300, but it did mark the beginning of the political use of ransomware.
2022: Cyberattacks get ‘AI edge’ with deepfake videos
Artificial Intelligence is marking a turning point in the evolution of cyberattacks, as this type of technology allows threats to be more frequent, faster, and more effective. Techniques such as deepfake are managing to reliably impersonate relevant identities and companies to steal information, phishing attacks are becoming more convincing, and new variants of ransomware and malware are developing rapidly and more cost-effectively. As cybercriminals’ techniques progress rapidly, cybersecurity is also using AI to refine its defensive methods to keep pace.
“It is shocking to see the speed at which we have developed the entire cyber complex: from the creation of the internet, the spread of increasingly complex malware and the consequent development of cybersecurity. But even more impressive is the thought of what is to come”, explains Sundar Balasubramanian, Managing Director, Check Point Software Technologies India & SAARC. “Artificial Intelligence has opened a new door in the technological era and is generating serious threats, but also sophisticated protection methods and technical breakthroughs. We are only seeing the beginning of major shifts in the technological and global paradigm”.
(With agency inputs)
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