Nargis Anny- Professor Jason Ellis- New York City College of Technology – ENG2575 OL70-10/13/2020 …Cyber Security Cyber Security is the process of protecting various technological programs, systems and networks from viruses and other digital issues. The viruses are often set up by anonymous people who are looking to gain user information, disrupt the hardware setup as well as delete data. Now as technology develops in today’s age, so do the viruses and the requests for safer online security. Cyber security started out in the 1970’s. Bob Thomas, a computer researcher associated with ARPANET (Advanced Research Project Agency Network), invented a program called “CREEPER”. The “CREEPER” program would start on a network and crossover from system to system. And it would leave a trace behind in the form of a message, “I’M THE CREEPER: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN”. The “CREEPER “eventually came to an end thanks to Ray Tomlinson. Tomlinson, who invented the email decided to evolve the CREEPER and create an equivalent program called the “REAPER”. This program managed to follow the CREEPER’s trail and delete it permanently, making the “REAPER” the first antivirus program to be created. Eventually, Thompson and Tomlinson’s creations led to various software and network companies to realize that there were numerous bugs in their systems that could be tampered with. This became more serious when organizations had computers and phone lines operating together to create networks of their own. And thus, anonymous people could gain access to their information. Spanning across from the 1980s to the 00’s, the internet began to experience more popularity around the world as technology began improving rapidly. Cyber hackers became more prevalent as computer viruses improved and couldn’t be monitored. Inventor Robert Morris created the “Morris Worm” in 1988, a program that multiplied beyond networks, foisted computer bugs and replicated it to indentify the spots in the system. However, while this worked it caused internet service to slow down and damage networks heavily. In the 1990’s, firewalls and anti-virus programs were used to help protect public user information. As we reached the 2000’s, we see more criminal hackers being taken down with longer jail time and heavier fines for their actions. However, now hackers were able to create virus programs that not only could hit users in cities, but people across various parts of the world.However, while Cybersecurtiy does help, there are some setbacks. Security software often slows down computers and their network. A lot of people who use it are bound to have their personal data exposed to tons of people, who can use it for any reason. Technology users have been introduced to numerous cyber security threats such as Malware, Ransomware, Phishing and Social Engineering. With Malware, this software can tamper with user files through various codes and damage to data and network systems. Ransomware also tampers with user files, but requests a payment to gain to get back those files. Phishing is known for having various scam emails be sent to users under the guise of a legitimate source and steal information (address, card information, phone number, login information) once someone opens it. Social engineering is when someone manages to gain user information in person and use it for their own purposes. An example of this can be shown with credit card scammers. These people are known to ask associated for their card information to buy various goods, such as clothes, jewelry, cars or even houses and instead that person’s information and money is stolen. Even with the millions of dollars that go towards new security programs, there will always be something out there that tops it. In today’s time, technology researchers are looking towards using methods that would identify online users tech patterns, and prevent the threats from getting to them in the first place. To conclude, Cyber Security is something that will progress over time, and so will the viruses that can harm it. Despite this being an unfortunate reality, the best thing to do is to always be on top of any computer virus that is created. That’s all we can do as tech users. As we see Cyber Security, increase, we can hope for a program that wipes out any virus instantly and keeps the computer functioning at 100 percent.