Cybersecurity is central to our interconnected world today, but its origins can be traced back to the Second World War. When Alan Turing’s team cracked the Enigma code, it became evident that machines could both attack and protect data. During the post-war period, computers remained isolated, but the first network, ARPANET, emerged in the late 1960s. Soon afterwards, the first viruses appeared, such as Creeper, followed by more serious threats like the Morris worm and ransomware. The 1990s saw the globalisation and vulnerability of the internet with the advent of the World Wide Web, and human weaknesses were increasingly exploited. From the 2000s onwards, cyberspace has become geopolitically relevant, as demonstrated by Stuxnet. Revelations such as those by Edward Snowden, and scandals such as the Cambridge Analytica affair, have demonstrated the political power of data. Today, cyberattacks threaten states and companies alike. New technologies such as AI are exacerbating the situation, while the focus is shifting towards resilience rather than absolute security.
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The history of cybersecurity began long before the modern computer age. This video provides a brief overview of key milestones in the fight to secure our information systems since the Second World War.
Summary Cybersecurity is central to our interconnected world today, but its origins can be traced back to the Second World War. When Alan Turing’s team cracked the Enigma code, it became evident that machines could both attack and protect data. During the post-war period, computers remained isolated, but the first network, ARPANET, emerged in the late 1960s. Soon afterwards, the first viruses appeared, such as Creeper, followed by more serious threats like the Morris worm and ransomware. The 1990s saw the globalisation and vulnerability of the internet with the advent of the World Wide Web, and human weaknesses were increasingly exploited. From the 2000s onwards, cyberspace has become geopolitically relevant, as demonstrated by Stuxnet. Revelations such as those by Edward Snowden, and scandals such as the Cambridge Analytica affair, have demonstrated the political power of data. Today, cyberattacks threaten states and companies alike. New technologies such as AI are exacerbating the situation, while the focus is shifting towards resilience rather than absolute security.
