If It's Smart, It's Vulnerable

Malware—Then, Now, and in the Near Future

Malware poses the largest single threat to information security. Within just a few decades, this previously marginal phenomenon has become a criminal industry worth billions and a tool of state-level online attackers—but the current problems may be just the beginning.

The History of Malware

Malware, which includes viruses, worms, and trojans, has had a tremendous impact on computer security since the 1980s. There are other problems, but malware is the common thread connecting almost every major information security incident. The development of malware over the last three decades divides into clear epochs.

Viruses on Floppies

Scientific publications and science-fiction authors were already mentioning computer viruses and similar problems in the 1960s. The first computer virus to actually spread was discovered in 1981: the malware, Elk Cloner, that ran on Apple II computers. Between 1981 and 1986, around 10 other viruses targeted at the Apple II were discovered.

In 1986, the first virus aimed at the Commodore 64 was found—it was known as BHP. The Commodore 64 and Apple II used a similar central processing unit (MOS Technology 6502/6510). They also both used 5.25-inch floppy disks. Early Apple and Commodore viruses were spread by users trading floppies, but never became a major problem—it took the IBM PC to do that.

The first PC virus was known as Brain.A and was discovered in 1986. Brain is often mentioned as the first virus, but ...