1960s-1980s
The first cyberattack occurred before the internet was actualized and the first instances of computer viruses, cyber attacks, and ransomware made their appearances.

1990s
As the digital revolution was afoot, cybercrime perpetrators utilized new technologies to create new techniques to commit their wrongs. This included the Melissa Virus and password sniffer programs.

2000s
As we entered the 2000s, advanced persistent threat actors like espionage, data threats, and system disruption were in full force, as were more organized cyber attacks. Government agencies and larger corporations start to become attacked more and more, highlighting a need for cybersecurity for their sensitive information and software. DDoS attacks make their appearance and phishing, malware, and other advanced techniques start to ramp up.

2010s
This was where the cybercrime rate grew exponentially. Ransomware rose to popularity and other cybercrime techniques increased their effectiveness drastically. As these malicious threats grew, as did the cybersecurity industry, as an attempt to mitigate these cyber threats. Users begin to perceive digital security as scarce, and a new field of ethical hacking emerges to cover all possibilities of data exploitation.

Today
Now, cybercrime is the number one global business risk and poses a large threat to healthcare, the most attacked sector. Phishing, credential theft, and ransomware are at the forefront of these attacks and the digitization of organizations and globalization is occurring faster than cybersecurity can evolve.