In the 1970s: from "CREEPER" to "Reaper"
The history of cybersecurity began with a research project conducted in the 1970s on what was then known as the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network). Researcher Bob Thomas created a computer program capable of navigating the ARPANET and leaving small traces wherever it went. The program was called "CREEPER" because of the printed message it left behind when it traveled across the network: "I'm the Creeper: Catch Me If You Can."

Later, Ray Tomlinson - the person who invented email - designed a program that took "CREEPER" to the next level, making it self-replicating and becoming the first computer worm ever.