Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks.
The table below shows how computers and their networks have been evolving from the 1950’s. Cybersecurity issues started soon after the first networks were operational. However, the general public did not become aware of its existence until recently. Take a look.
Pre-1970's
1970's
1980's
1990's
2000's
2010's
2020's
Key Milestones
Most computers in the world were few and very large called Mainframes. They were not interconnected. Computers were accessed via directly connected terminals. Primarily owned by Governments, the Military and Large corporations.
ARPANET, the first large scale Network is developed by the DoD. It connected primarily military and university mainframes. Not for commercial purposes. However, it grows quickly and it shows great promise.
TCP/IP is developed to support ARPANET. This allows the interconnection of heterogeneous computers. Before TCP/IP, computers used proprietary data communication protocols which allow them to connect to other equipment from the same vendor.
In 1979 K. Mitnick hacks into Digital Equipment computers to steal Software products. Probably first recorded cybersecurity hacking attack. A few researchers begin to discuss the need for security measures to avoid such intrusions.
TCP/IP is developed to support ARPANET. This allows the interconnection of heterogeneous computers. Before TCP/IP, computers used proprietary data communication protocols which allow them to connect to other equipment from the same vendor.
In 1979 K. Mitnick hacks into Digital Equipment computers to steal Software products. Probably first recorded cybersecurity hacking attack. A few researchers begin to discuss the need for security measures to avoid such intrusions.
ARPANET becomes the INTERNET. Open and available to any interested party via their ISP.
TCP/IP is official named the Internet Protocol for data exchange.
IBM Releases the IBM PC democratizing IT. Companies and Individuals adopt it quickly democratizing software development and starting a revolution away from official IT departments. Anyone can develop code.
In 1986 a German Hacker breaks into 400 DoD computers intending to steal military secrets to sell to the KGB. This brings additional attention to cybersecurity.
In response, in 1987 a few Antivirus products emerge ( e.g., NOD Antivirus, McAfee VirusScan). By 1988 many antivirus products emerge.
We see the emergence of VirusL, the first electronic board devoted to antivirus security. It operated in the Usenet network.
In 1989, IBM’s product VIRSCAN goes to market for $35
TCP/IP is official named the Internet Protocol for data exchange.
IBM Releases the IBM PC democratizing IT. Companies and Individuals adopt it quickly democratizing software development and starting a revolution away from official IT departments. Anyone can develop code.
In 1986 a German Hacker breaks into 400 DoD computers intending to steal military secrets to sell to the KGB. This brings additional attention to cybersecurity.
In response, in 1987 a few Antivirus products emerge ( e.g., NOD Antivirus, McAfee VirusScan). By 1988 many antivirus products emerge.
We see the emergence of VirusL, the first electronic board devoted to antivirus security. It operated in the Usenet network.
In 1989, IBM’s product VIRSCAN goes to market for $35
The 1990s can be considered the decade of the Virus explosion. New sophisticated viruses were developed constantly worldwide. The number of different malware circulating exploded into the thousands, reaching 5 Million by 2007.
Since the Antivirus product relied on finding copies of the viruses on the potentially infected computer, that approach could not longer work because of the sheer number of viruses.
On top, Email was becoming very popular and it actually provided a new entry point for viruses. The user inadvertently opened an infected document emailed to him/her and that was all it took to get infected.
Cybersecurity companies needed smarter and more effective approaches to combat the cybercriminals. So new things started to happen: A NASA researcher invented the Firewall. The European Community established the European Institute for computer antivirus Research. SSL was developed in 1995 to ensure secure communications to access the Internet which allowed for ecommerce and online shopping.
Last but not least, the World Wide Web service was made available on top of the Internet. This was a watershed moment in terms of worldwide adoption.
Since the Antivirus product relied on finding copies of the viruses on the potentially infected computer, that approach could not longer work because of the sheer number of viruses.
On top, Email was becoming very popular and it actually provided a new entry point for viruses. The user inadvertently opened an infected document emailed to him/her and that was all it took to get infected.
Cybersecurity companies needed smarter and more effective approaches to combat the cybercriminals. So new things started to happen: A NASA researcher invented the Firewall. The European Community established the European Institute for computer antivirus Research. SSL was developed in 1995 to ensure secure communications to access the Internet which allowed for ecommerce and online shopping.
Last but not least, the World Wide Web service was made available on top of the Internet. This was a watershed moment in terms of worldwide adoption.
With the WWW, email and the emergence of smartphones worldwide, cybercriminals have a rich field to exploit.
Now, there was no need to download an infected file from email to be compromised. You just needed to visit an infected website to get breached.
Anti-virus software is moved to the Cloud to be more effective. Panda Security, McAfee Labs among others, offer cloud -based protection.
Microsoft, Apple, IBM and other Operating System providers include Cybersecurity in their Operating Systems. Smartphones Antivirus product come to the market.
Cyberattacks target credit cards. A group steals 45.7 Million credit card information from TJMax retail group.
Now, there was no need to download an infected file from email to be compromised. You just needed to visit an infected website to get breached.
Anti-virus software is moved to the Cloud to be more effective. Panda Security, McAfee Labs among others, offer cloud -based protection.
Microsoft, Apple, IBM and other Operating System providers include Cybersecurity in their Operating Systems. Smartphones Antivirus product come to the market.
Cyberattacks target credit cards. A group steals 45.7 Million credit card information from TJMax retail group.
High-profile attacks start to impact national security of countries. Remediation costs millions.
Attackers are increasingly sophisticated using new ways to infiltrate users. Social engineering, multi-vector attacks, etc. are some of the innovations seen.
In 2012 a Saudi hacker steals and discloses details confidential data on 400,000 credit cards online
In 2013 – 2014 Hackers break into Yahoo and disclose confidential information of 3 billion users. Also, in 2014, researchers found a bug in SSL- a widely used open-source encryption protocol used to secure millions of systems worldwide.
In 2017 the North Korea WannaCry ransomware attack infects 230,000 computers in one day. This ransomware attack infected the British Health system, Renault in France, Indian airlines, 4 thousand Universities in China, Telefonica in Spain, Hitachi and Nissan in Japan, the Japanese Police, every gas station in China owned by PetroChina (state-owned oil company), and FedEx in the US.
After that came “Non-Petya”. This was not a Ransomware attack to get financial gain. Not at all, this was a powerful attack on the infrastructure of Ukraine by the Russians.
Computers at Ukraine’s 2 major airports were down. Ukraine’s shipping and logistics systems were frozen, ATMs were not working, Energy companies were paralyzed. Computers at bus stations, banks, railways, the postal service and media companies were displaying a ransom message. The encryption in the ransomware could not be decrypted. It was an attack designed to wreak maximum destruction.
As it turned out, Ukraine was not the only party affected. At Merck the pharma giant, factory floors stopped. The International Law Firm DLA Piper could not access a single email. The British Reckitt Benckiser would be offline for weeks as well as FedExp. Maersk, the largest shipping operator was paralyzed with hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The attack even backfired on Russia. Computers at Rosneft, Russian Oil company, were down too.
Months later, the damages caused by Not-Petya were estimated at, at least, $10 Billion. As it turns out, many insurance companies covering the public companies and government agencies affected, refused to pay out damages claiming the “war exemption” clause in their policies. This attack constituted war in their view.
Attackers are increasingly sophisticated using new ways to infiltrate users. Social engineering, multi-vector attacks, etc. are some of the innovations seen.
In 2012 a Saudi hacker steals and discloses details confidential data on 400,000 credit cards online
In 2013 – 2014 Hackers break into Yahoo and disclose confidential information of 3 billion users. Also, in 2014, researchers found a bug in SSL- a widely used open-source encryption protocol used to secure millions of systems worldwide.
In 2017 the North Korea WannaCry ransomware attack infects 230,000 computers in one day. This ransomware attack infected the British Health system, Renault in France, Indian airlines, 4 thousand Universities in China, Telefonica in Spain, Hitachi and Nissan in Japan, the Japanese Police, every gas station in China owned by PetroChina (state-owned oil company), and FedEx in the US.
After that came “Non-Petya”. This was not a Ransomware attack to get financial gain. Not at all, this was a powerful attack on the infrastructure of Ukraine by the Russians.
Computers at Ukraine’s 2 major airports were down. Ukraine’s shipping and logistics systems were frozen, ATMs were not working, Energy companies were paralyzed. Computers at bus stations, banks, railways, the postal service and media companies were displaying a ransom message. The encryption in the ransomware could not be decrypted. It was an attack designed to wreak maximum destruction.
As it turned out, Ukraine was not the only party affected. At Merck the pharma giant, factory floors stopped. The International Law Firm DLA Piper could not access a single email. The British Reckitt Benckiser would be offline for weeks as well as FedExp. Maersk, the largest shipping operator was paralyzed with hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The attack even backfired on Russia. Computers at Rosneft, Russian Oil company, were down too.
Months later, the damages caused by Not-Petya were estimated at, at least, $10 Billion. As it turns out, many insurance companies covering the public companies and government agencies affected, refused to pay out damages claiming the “war exemption” clause in their policies. This attack constituted war in their view.
In the United States, country-wide action on Cybersecurity is finally being considered by:
- Establishing a National Cybersecurity Coordinator
- Requiring the Military and all its Subcontractors to adhere to cybersecurity standards and best practices
- Requiring Congress to pass legislation to require companies that manage critical infrastructure to meet basic standards
- Direct companies that provide basic national functions like financial services, electricity, health services, food supply, transportation, heating, media platforms and communications to establish “reasonable” level of security. Companies that fail to establish cybersecurity best practices could be liable for penalties
- Conduct an education campaign to raise the cybersecurity awareness to all Americans. Too many cyberattacks rely on vulnerable systems, running on software that is not up-to-date, or which has not been patched.
- Identify and resist information warfare. Americans are being coopted by disinformation campaigns and conspiracy theories because they lack the tools to spot influence operations, foreign and domestic., in real time.
In the meantime, cybercriminals continue their activities:
- Microsoft’s Exchange Server is hacked by Chinese group;
- JBS USA Meat plant attacked by Russian group REvil rendered inoperative,
- The Continental Pipeline ransom cyberattack stops flow of gasoline to the Eastern US.
- Establishing a National Cybersecurity Coordinator
- Requiring the Military and all its Subcontractors to adhere to cybersecurity standards and best practices
- Requiring Congress to pass legislation to require companies that manage critical infrastructure to meet basic standards
- Direct companies that provide basic national functions like financial services, electricity, health services, food supply, transportation, heating, media platforms and communications to establish “reasonable” level of security. Companies that fail to establish cybersecurity best practices could be liable for penalties
- Conduct an education campaign to raise the cybersecurity awareness to all Americans. Too many cyberattacks rely on vulnerable systems, running on software that is not up-to-date, or which has not been patched.
- Identify and resist information warfare. Americans are being coopted by disinformation campaigns and conspiracy theories because they lack the tools to spot influence operations, foreign and domestic., in real time.
In the meantime, cybercriminals continue their activities:
- Microsoft’s Exchange Server is hacked by Chinese group;
- JBS USA Meat plant attacked by Russian group REvil rendered inoperative,
- The Continental Pipeline ransom cyberattack stops flow of gasoline to the Eastern US.
Cybersecurity Angle
From the 1940s to the 1960s computers and their data were very safe, locked in Data Centers. Few people were able to access them.
Researchers at ARPANET built software that acted as a Virus, infecting computers connected to the network and displaying a funny message. An Antivirus program was also developed to find the virus in infected computers and destroy it. (the names were: Creeper & Reaper).
There did not seem to be concern at the time that something like this could be used for malicious purposes
There did not seem to be concern at the time that something like this could be used for malicious purposes
In the 1980’s is where we see the start of Cybersecurity products. Primarily Antivirus.
The Antivirus products are fairly simple. They scan for the virus signature in the computers they are installed in and if they find it, they delete it
Most of the viruses are created by malicious insiders. At this point, there is no indication of Ransomware for financial gain.
The Antivirus products are fairly simple. They scan for the virus signature in the computers they are installed in and if they find it, they delete it
Most of the viruses are created by malicious insiders. At this point, there is no indication of Ransomware for financial gain.
Huge virus explosion.
Viruses become much more sophisticated.
The Cybersecurity industry struggles to contain the viruses with the existing Anti-virus products.
The industry develops different approaches to combat the problem.
Viruses become much more sophisticated.
The Cybersecurity industry struggles to contain the viruses with the existing Anti-virus products.
The industry develops different approaches to combat the problem.
Cyber threats continue to multiply and get more diverse.
“Zero-day” attacks emerge. These are attacks to products for which there is no known protection. Attacked computer vendors must react very quickly to offer patches to fix issuers.
Crime organizations join some governments to fund professional cyberattacks
“Zero-day” attacks emerge. These are attacks to products for which there is no known protection. Attacked computer vendors must react very quickly to offer patches to fix issuers.
Crime organizations join some governments to fund professional cyberattacks
Cybersecurity vulnerabilities (bugs) that had been discovered had not been made public so they could have been fixed. But rather, were kept as an arsenal of “cyberweapons” by the US and other powers.
These “weapons”, somehow, got stolen by bad actors. The results were extremely powerful attacks like WannaCry and Not-Petya.
The realization that cyberattacks can be as destructive as physical weapon attacks to a country has made most country governments take cybersecurity very seriously.
Cybersecurity cannot succeed by protecting our vulnerabilities by setting up digital moats with firewalls and antivirus software. It has not worked.
Better protection is necessary
These “weapons”, somehow, got stolen by bad actors. The results were extremely powerful attacks like WannaCry and Not-Petya.
The realization that cyberattacks can be as destructive as physical weapon attacks to a country has made most country governments take cybersecurity very seriously.
Cybersecurity cannot succeed by protecting our vulnerabilities by setting up digital moats with firewalls and antivirus software. It has not worked.
Better protection is necessary
It is clear that the US government is taking cybersecurity very seriously nowadays.
But it is not just the job of the government to be aware and take action against these crimes.
All individuals must do their part by exercising good cybersecurity.
We need to protect our devices, secure our online accounts and be vigilant of our digital information “hygiene”.
We need to protect our devices, secure our online accounts and be vigilant of our digital information.
But it is not just the job of the government to be aware and take action against these crimes.
All individuals must do their part by exercising good cybersecurity.
We need to protect our devices, secure our online accounts and be vigilant of our digital information “hygiene”.
We need to protect our devices, secure our online accounts and be vigilant of our digital information.
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