Cybersecurity History
A History of Cybersecurity: From Creeper to Hyperautomation
By Derick Smith, Founder & CEO, Trescudo
To understand where cybersecurity is going, we must first understand where it has been. The journey from the first digital curiosities to the AI-powered defences of today is a fascinating story of innovation, conflict, and evolution. It’s a history that proves one timeless lesson: for every new technology, a new threat is born, and for every new threat, a new defence must be forged.
The Dawn of Digital Conflict: The 1970s & 1980s
Long before the internet as we know it, on the closed ARPANET system, the first seeds of cyber conflict were sown.
1971 - The First Virus was an Experiment: The first-ever computer "virus" was an experimental, self-replicating program called Creeper. Created by Bob Thomas at BBN Technologies, it wasn't malicious. It simply moved between ARPANET's mainframe computers, displaying the message: "I'M THE CREEPER. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!" (SecPoint).
The First Antivirus was also a Virus: In response, Ray Tomlinson (the inventor of email) created Reaper, a program designed to hunt down and delete Creeper. In essence, the first antivirus was a "good" virus.
1988 - A College Prank Shuts Down the Internet: The modern era of cybersecurity was truly born on November 2, 1988, when a Cornell University graduate student named Robert Morris unleashed the Morris Worm. Intended as an intellectual exercise to map the size of the nascent internet, a coding error turned it into a digital pandemic. It spread uncontrollably, infecting an estimated 10% of the 60,000 computers connected to the internet at the time and causing millions of dollars in damages (FBI).
The Birth of a Coordinated Defence: The chaos of the Morris Worm was a wake-up call. In its immediate aftermath, the U.S. Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funded the creation of the CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) at Carnegie Mellon University. This was the world's first Computer Emergency Response Team, establishing the model for global incident response we rely on today (Carnegie Mellon University).
Cybersecurity Trivia: The term "firewall" in computing was inspired by its architectural counterpart—a physical wall designed to stop the spread of fire. The concept of using routers to filter network packets emerged in the late 1980s, creating the first digital firewalls to stop the spread of cyber threats (Wikipedia).
The Commercialisation of Conflict: The 1990s & 2000s
As the internet moved into homes and businesses, so did the threats. This era saw the rise of a commercial antivirus industry and the first financially motivated attacks.
1989 - The First Ransomware Used Snail Mail: The first documented ransomware attack was the AIDS Trojan. Created by biologist Dr. Joseph Popp, it was distributed on 20,000 floppy disks to attendees of a WHO conference. The malware encrypted files and demanded victims mail $189 to a P.O. box in Panama to receive the decryption key (CrowdStrike).
The Antivirus Arms Race: The 1990s saw the birth of the modern antivirus industry. Companies like Symantec (Norton Antivirus, 1991), Avast (1988), and Kaspersky (1997) were founded, all based on the principle of signature-based detection—identifying malware by matching its code to a database of known threats.
2010 - The First Cyber Super-weapon: The discovery of Stuxnet changed everything. This highly sophisticated worm, widely attributed to a joint U.S.-Israeli operation, was designed to physically damage Iran's nuclear enrichment centrifuges. It proved that a cyberattack could leap from the digital world to cause tangible, kinetic destruction, marking the true beginning of state-sponsored cyber warfare (Keepnet Labs).
The Modern Era: Automation, AI, and the Need for Speed
The last decade has been defined by an explosion in the volume and velocity of attacks. Signature-based detection and manual human responses became too slow to be effective, leading to the rise of automation.
The Alert Fatigue Crisis: As businesses adopted more security tools (firewalls, EDR, SIEMs), security teams became overwhelmed by thousands of alerts per day. This "alert fatigue" meant that critical threats were often missed in the noise.
The Rise of SOAR: To combat this, Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) platforms were developed. These tools act as a central hub, connecting different security solutions and automating the routine, repetitive tasks of incident response (e.g., blocking an IP address, quarantining a device) based on pre-defined "playbooks."
From Automation to Intelligence: While SOAR was a major leap forward, it was still based on rigid, pre-defined rules. Modern attackers change their tactics too quickly for this model to keep up. This led to the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning. Instead of just following a script, AI-powered systems can analyse vast amounts of data to detect behavioural anomalies, hunt for novel threats, and make intelligent, context-aware decisions.
Today - AI Hyperautomation: We have now arrived at the era of AI Hyperautomation. This is the next evolution, where advanced AI models (like Agentic AI) don't just automate simple tasks but can autonomously manage complex security processes. They can understand organisational context, predict attacker intent, and orchestrate a coordinated, multi-layered defence across the entire security ecosystem at machine speed.
"This history shows us a clear trajectory: the speed and intelligence of attacks will only continue to increase. For business leaders, this means that investing in AI-driven, automated security is no longer a forward-thinking luxury; it is a fundamental requirement for survival and resilience in the modern digital economy."
— Derick Smith, Founder & CEO, Trescudo
From Global History to Local Resilience
This global evolution has direct implications for businesses in the Benelux. The rise of sophisticated, automated threats is precisely what regulations like NIS2 and DORA are designed to address. The lessons from the past—from the Morris Worm to Stuxnet—all point to the need for a proactive, framework-driven, and technologically advanced security posture to protect our critical industries and digital infrastructure.
From a simple, curious Creeper to a global network defended by AI, the history of cybersecurity is a story of constant adaptation. As attackers become faster, smarter, and more automated, our defences must evolve to outpace them.
Is your security strategy built for the threats of today, or the threats of yesterday?
Schedule your Cyber Resilience Strategy Session to discuss how Trescudo's AI-driven approach can prepare you for the future of cybersecurity. https://clients.trescudo.com/form1
Verified Intelligence Sources
Carnegie Mellon University: Fostering Growth in Professional Cyber Incident Management
CrowdStrike: A Brief History of Ransomware
Keepnet Labs: History of Cybersecurity: An Overview From Past to Day
SecPoint: A Complete History of Cyber Security
Wikipedia: Firewall (computing)