Cyber Security Policy Guidebook

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Cyber Security Evolution

To understand cyber security policy, it is helpful to appreciate how cyber security has evolved. When computers enabled the first automated processes, the main goal in all such projects was the increase in productivity that came with replacing human calculators with automated programs that produced more accurate results. As more software became available, the productivity benefits of computers increased. The introduction of the Internet further enabled productivity by allowing quick and accurate communication of information. This led directly to the ability to process business transactions online. This capability was dubbed electronic commerce (e-commerce). By 2000, the economy had become so dependent on e-commerce that it was a frequent target of cyber criminals, and security technology evolved to protect data that could be used to commit fraudulent transactions. Such technology is generally referred to as countermeasures because they are security measures designed to counter a specific threat. The chapter chronicles the progression of cyber security technology, and concludes with observations on the challenges presented by the ongoing cyber arms race wherein countermeasures are falling behind.

2.1 Productivity

The history of cyber security starts in the 1960s with the mainframe. This was the first type of computer that was affordable enough for businesses to see a return on investment from electronic data processing systems. Prior to this time, the ...