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Chapter 1. Security Overview

the way they handle information transmission and disclosure. The popularity of the Internet was one

of the most important developments that prompted an intensified effort in data security.

An ever growing number of people are using their personal computers to gain access to the resources

that the Internet has to offer. From research and information retrieval to electronic mail and commerce

transaction, the Internet has been regarded as one of the most important developments of the 20th

century.

The Internet and its earlier protocols, however, were developed as a trust based system. That is, the

Internet Protocol was not designed to be secure in itself. There are no approved security standards built

into the TCP/IP communications stack, leaving it open to potentially malicious users and processes

across the network. Modern developments have made Internet communication more secure, but there

are still several incidents that gain national attention and alert us to the fact that nothing is completely

safe.

1.1.2. Computer Security Timeline

Several key events contributed to the birth and rise of computer security. The following lists some of

the most important events that brought attention to computer and information security and its impor 

tance today.

1.1.2.1. The 1960s

Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) form the Tech Model Railroad Club

(TMRC), which coin the term "hacker" in the context it is known today and begin exploring and

programming the school's PDP 1 mainframe computer system.

The DoD creates the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANet), which gains pop 

ularity in research and academic circles as a conduit for the electronic exchange of data and infor 

mation. This paves the way for the creation of the carrier network known today as the Internet.

Ken Thompson develops the UNIX operating system, widely hailed as the most "hacker friendly"

OS because of its accessible developer tools and compilers and its supportive user community.

Around the same time, Dennis Ritchie develops the C programming language, arguably the most

popular hacking language in computer history.

1.1.2.2. The 1970s

Bolt, Beranek, and Newman, a computing research and development contractor for government

and industry, develops the telnet protocol, a public extension of the ARPANet. This opens doors to

public use of data networks once restricted to government contractors and academic researchers.

Telnet, though, is also arguably the most insecure protocol for public networks, according to several

security researchers.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak found Apple Computer and begin marketing the Personal Computer

(PC). The PC is the springboard for several malicious users to learn the craft of cracking systems

remotely using common PC communication hardware such as analog modems and war dialers.

Jim Ellis and Tom Truscott create USENET, a bulletin board style system for electronic commu 

nication between disparate users. USENET quickly becomes one the most popular forums for the

exchange of ideas in computing, networking, and, of course, cracking.