History of Information Security

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Let me start this week’s blog topic with a basic question. When was first computer invented? You probably might know the answer from your first computer class in middle school. When I was in sixth grade, I learned that computer was invented in 1830s by Charles Babbage. This is true. First mechanical computer was indeed conceptualized and designed by Charles Babbage. During his era, computer hardware was very large machine that required a space of a big room. Computer networking systems never existed at that time, so information security was not as critical as it is today.

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The issue of information security came in existence when computer networking systems were introduced in 1960s. Because of security weaknesses, computer data was unprotected and passwords were fairly easy to crack to steal important information. Security issue became even more crucial when there was an increase use of personal computer during 1980s. People started using personal computers at work and at home; therefore, it was important to protect data of each individual and company. There have been many documented cases related to networking crime in the past. For example, one of the cases involved a UCLA student who hacked into Defense Department international communications system through his personal computer in 1983. This is reason why companies like McAfee, Symantec, Netscape and many more came into existence around 1990s. This information security companies has answered to security issues very well. They developed intrusion prevention system, intrusion detection systems, filters and many other solutions to address different security issues.  

Even today, there are some unsolved security issues in computer networking system. I am very sure that current information security industries will find new ways to solve and reduce these security issues from networking system. 

Sources:
http://www.ricoh.com/products/security/pdf/white_paper.pdf
http://www.scmagazine.com/key-developments-in-information-security-during-the-past-two-decades/article/152081/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_crime