The Bridge - Issue 2, 2023 - 38

History Spotlight
Cybersecurity - A Brief History
Burt Dicht, Eta Chapter
Growing up in a big city, it was second nature to
lock the doors to our homes and our cars. So, I was
surprised at times when visiting friends or family who
lived in more rural areas that, when leaving home,
they left their doors unlocked. Even though it was
perceived to be safe, why not, in an abundance of
caution, just lock your doors? There are bad players
everywhere and protecting yourself, your family and
property is a priority. That has made me think about
the history of cybersecurity and how far we have
come both in terms of threats and in our ability to
protect our networks.
Len Kleinrock (HKN Eminent Member) with the server used to send the
first messages over the APRANET Oct 30, 1969
I am dating myself, but I remember the days of
AOL dialup. On a personal level, I don't think many
people thought of internet security at that time. But
it was becoming apparent that those with malicious
and criminal intent saw opportunities to target both
personal, business, and government networks. And
today, cybersecurity is an essential part of doing
business, protecting our data and assets and ensuring
that everyday life functions, from hospitals, to airlines, to
utilities-basically, everything we do.
The cybersecurity industry has grown tremendously
since those AOL days, with estimated global spending
to exceed $1.75 trillion through 2025 [1]. In 2004,
spending was just $3.5 billion. This is also reflected
in the number of information security analysts-the
people whose job is to protect computer networks and
systems. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
in the U.S. alone, growth through 2031 will be 35%
faster than the average for all occupations [2].
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With such a heavy investment and the critical need
for these protections, it would be beneficial to look
back and trace the history and development of
cybersecurity. The origins go back to 1971, when
computer researcher Bob Thomas developed packet
switching networks for ARPANET, which was the
internet's forerunner. His program, named Creeper,
moved across the ARPANET's network and left a
breadcrumb trail wherever it went. This was not a
malicious program; you might refer to it as tagging.
Ray Tomlinson, also a computer researcher, who is
credited as the inventor of email (and for choosing the
" @ " sign for separating the user from the destination),
developed a program to counter the Creeper. His
" Reaper " program chased Creeper and deleted it. It
was the first example of antivirus software.
The 1980s saw several high-profile attacks that
included AT&T, the Los Alamos National Laboratory,
and the National CSS. The terms " computer virus "
and " trojan horse, " were coined at that time. This
was new territory for most companies, and protecting
networks became a priority, with security becoming a
major focus. As the use of computers for personal and
business purposes expanded, several programmers
are credited with creating the first commercial
antivirus programs. In 1987, John McAfee founded
his company, McAfee Associates and released its first
program, VirusScan. In that same year, Andreas Lüning
and Kai Figge of Germany released their first antivirus
product for the Atari ST, which also saw the release of
Ultimate Virus Killer in 1987 [3].
The 1990s saw a major shift as computer use
expanded and people and companies went online.
The threats from criminals and bad players had
expanded exponentially. Infecting networks and stealing
data presented a profit motive. With these threats,
the cybersecurity industry grew. It was a constant
give-and-take between hackers and security experts.
Cybercriminals even invented the first anti anti-virus
program to combat security programs. As protections
increased, the use of a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) was
put in place in 1995. Developed by Netscape, it was
designed to protect activities like online purchases.
This would later evolve into the Hypertext Transfer
The Bridge - Issue 2, 2023

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