History of Cybercrime and Cybersecurity

For a long time, mainframes seemed like a safe room where a company’s most precious data possessions would be secure. But while mainframes still present unique challenges to bad actors, the days of mainframe impenetrability are most definitely over. Ever since the first headline-grabbing hack of a mainframe in 2007, cyber security has been on the minds of those who work on the Big Iron team.

This probably shouldn’t be surprising since the history of cybercrime tracks with the history of technological development. It’s an (apparently) eternal game of cat and mouse, with security professionals attempting to stay a step—or hopefully a few steps—ahead of the criminals. 

Take our quiz and see how much you know about the history of cybercrime and cybersecurity!

1. Which of these is not the name of a noteworthy 1980s and 90s cyberattack?

 Rainbow virus

 Cascade virus

 Morris worm

 Melissa virus

2. During what year did the first ransomware attack (asking victims to send US$189 to a PO box in Panama) take place?

 1987

 1989

 1993

 1995

3. What company was responsible for creating the position of CISO (Chief Information Security Officer)?

 Capital One

 JPMorgan Chase

 MassMutual

 Citigroup

4. The first well-documented hack of an IBM z/OS mainframe took place in 2007. What institution did it compromise?

 Nordea Bank in Sweden

 The UK’s National Health Service

 The French Navy

 Canada’s Department of National Defence

5. What was the name of the potent exploit tool that targeted the SMB protocol in 2017?

 EternalBlue

 Corpse

 Rogue

 PirateBay

6. During what year did the WannaCray and Petya ransomware outbreaks take place?

 2015

 2016

 2017

 2018

7. Who is credited with first using the term Zero Trust to denote stricter cybersecurity programs and access control within corporations?

 John Kindervag

 Paul Simmonds

 Shalanda Young

 Joseph Popp

8. In what year did IBM launch Multi Factor Authentication for z/OS?

 2012

 2015

 2017

 2019

 Loading …