Introduction to Information Security History

World War II and Computer Security

• The need for computer security arose during World War II due to the cracking of the German Enigma code.

ARPANET Development

• The ARPANET project was developed in the 1960s by the United States Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA).

ARPANET Security Issues

• Robert M. Metcalfe identified a fundamental problem with ARPANET security in the 1970s: the lack of encryption.
• Easy access to ARPANET in the 1970s was due to the use of default passwords and weak authentication.

Security Controls for Computer Systems

• The document "Security Controls for Computer Systems" was declassified and released in 1973.

MULTICS Operating System

• The main innovation of the MULTICS operating system was its multi-user, multi-tasking, and multi-level secure capabilities.
• The primary developers of the MULTICS operating system were Bell Labs, MIT, and General Electric.

Internet Access

• The general public gained access to the Internet in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

DEFCON Conference

• The original purpose of the DEFCON conference in 1993 was to bring together hackers and security professionals to discuss security issues.

White Hats and Information Security

• "White hats" refer to security professionals who use their skills to help organizations defend against cyber threats.

Computerized Control Systems

• The increased use of computerized control systems in critical infrastructure has made governments and companies more aware of the need to defend against cyber attacks.

Nation-States and Information Warfare

• A major concern is that nation-states are using cyber warfare to disrupt critical infrastructure and steal sensitive information.

Learn about the history of information security dating back to World War II and the development of computer security. Test your knowledge with a question on who cracked the Enigma machine.