The Evolution of Cybersecurity

Origins

When most people think about hackers they envision someone sitting at their computer with three monitors. Most people think that hacking is inherently bad because of how social media and news stations depict it. However, hacking is not inherently bad, originally hacking is “the act of working within the confines of a system to produce an unintended behaviour." This could entail stealing nuclear launch codes or saving an airplane from crashing. Hacking is a tool it is up to the user on how he intends to use it.

1960s

At this time computers were heavy bulky and expensive so people would share computers. This created a need for security as many people were using the same computers. This is where password security was popularized. As people were less connected to the internet there was little need for cyber security.

1980s

As the internet grew and was starting to become globalized, there started to be more targets for hacking. This is when the first real malware came about. The methods used to hack in this era are now used for basic cybersecurity training today.

There were two major events in the 1980s that pushed for the development of cyber security:

• There was the discovery that a hacker working for the KGB had leaked sensitive documents from the US government.
• The first real malware, the Morris Worm, was originally designed to map the size of the internet. It later grew out of control, clogging networks and slowing down computers.

The 2000s

• In the 2000s, more data became digitized, especially monetary transactions. Hackers began targeting larger entities, leading to significant credit-card breaches.
• Hundreds of millions of sets of credit card data were stolen.
• Corporations were forced to improve their cybersecurity strategies to avoid extended downtime, lawsuits, and loss of customer trust.