In 1988, sixty thousand computers connected to the Internet began slowing down because they were running a malicious code that demanded processor time and spread itself to other machines. This event marked the first internet computer worm, created by twenty-three-year-old Cornell University graduate student Robert Tappan Morris. He stated he wanted to count how many machines were connected to the Internet, but his software caused widespread disruption across mainframes, minicomputers, and professional workstations. Computer security emerged as a subdiscipline within information security to protect systems from such threats. It focuses on safeguarding software, systems, and networks from unauthorized disclosure, theft, or damage to hardware and data. The growing reliance on digital infrastructure has expanded with smart devices like smartphones and televisions becoming part of the Internet of things. Systems managing essential services such as power grids and finance are particularly sensitive to breaches. Although many aspects involve electronic passwords and encryption, physical measures like metal locks remain in use to prevent tampering.
Threats And Vulnerabilities
On the 2nd of November 1988, the first internet worm slowed down thousands of machines by demanding excessive processor time. Malware includes viruses that hijack software to do damage and spread copies, worms that self-replicate without human interaction, and Trojan horses that trick users into installing them. In early 2016, business email compromise scams cost US businesses more than two billion dollars over about two years. Attackers often impersonate senior executives to request urgent actions from accounting personnel. Spear-phishing attacks target specific individuals using personal details to appear trustworthy. Social engineering exploits cognitive biases to convince users to disclose secrets like passwords or grant physical access. Eavesdropping occurs when traffic is not secured on a network, allowing attackers to intercept sensitive business data. In 2018, cyber security firm Trellix published research highlighting life-threatening risks of spoofing in healthcare. Direct-access attacks allow unauthorized users to copy data or install keyloggers when they gain physical entry to a computer. Denial-of-service attacks can lock accounts by entering wrong passwords repeatedly or overload networks to block all users at once.