Cybersecurity is a serious topic, but it can also be quite interesting and surprising. Here are 10 facts about cybersecurity that might blow your mind:
1. The first computer virus was created in 1971. The computer virus called "The Creeper" was created as a joke by security researcher Robert Thomas. It only displayed the message "I am scary, catch me if you can!". It was created to test computer systems at the university where he worked, but it eventually spread to other systems and became the first known computer virus.
2. Most cyberattacks are carried out by governmental countries. According to the "Threat Landscape Report" by Kaspersky, most cyber attacks are carried out by governmental countries. The United States, China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are primarily responsible for these attacks. You can check out a real-time map of cyberthreats: https://cybermap.kaspersky.com/
3. The biggest leak of passwords in history according to CyberNews, led to the release of 8.4 billion passwords from users in different countries. The file with the stolen data was over 100 GB. The hacker action was named RockYou2021 and it is unclear which services were breached to obtain those informations.
4. Cryptography, or the act of encoding information to protect it, has been used since antiquity. The Egyptians, for example, used cryptography in their inscriptions and the Greeks used ciphers to protect their military messages.
5. MyDoom is considered to be the computer virus with the fastest spread rate (it infected over 500,000 machines in just one week). It is a "worm" virus, which means that it automatically spreads to other computers through computer networks or spam. It was first found in 2004 and it is estimated that the damage caused reached US$ 38 billion.
6. The first ransomware was created in 1989 by security researcher Joseph Popp. He sent infected floppy disks to participants at the World Health Organization's international AIDS conference in Stockholm with the aim of collecting money from its users. When users tried to open the file on the floppy disk, the ransomware would encrypt the computer's data, hide directories, lock file names and demand a fee in exchange for the decryption key. Although the attack was considered largely ineffective at the time, it was considered the first known ransomware attack and inspired the creation of many other ransomware attacks in the years to come.
7. The first phishing was carried out in 1995 by a group of Russian hackers. They sent fake emails to AOL users asking them to provide their passwords and credit card numbers.
8. The first network worm was created in 1988 by security researcher Robert Tappan Morris. The worm, called the "Morris Worm", was created as part of an experiment, but ended up spreading quickly and causing many problems in computer networks around the world.
9. Cybersecurity is one of the highest paying jobs in the world. According to job site Glassdoor, cybersecurity professionals earn one of the highest salaries in the world. Senior cybersecurity professionals, for example, can earn upwards of $120,000 a year.
10. Cybersecurity is an important issue for national security, as cyberattacks can affect critical infrastructure such as energy, water and transportation systems, and threaten the security of citizens. For this reason, many governments invest in cybersecurity professionals and cybersecurity measures to protect the country.
If you enjoyed these cybersecurity facts, share this post with your friends and help spread the word about the importance of cybersecurity!