The InfoSec Handbook

CHAPTER 2

History of Computer Security

Introduction

The first events in the history of exploiting security date back to the days of telephony. Telephone signals were sent via copper cables. Telephone lines could be tapped and conversations could be heard. In the early days of telephone systems, telephone operators intentionally misdirected calls and eavesdropped on conversations. In the 1970s, a set of people known as phreakers exploited the weakness of digital switching telephone systems for fun. Phreakers discovered the signal frequency at which the numbers are dialed and tried to match the frequency by blowing a whistle and fooling the electronic ...