About this Study Set
This study set covers Cybersecurity History through
18 practice questions.
A collection of historical facts regarding the evolution of cybersecurity, notable inventions, and pioneering discoveries. Every question includes the correct answer so you can learn as you go — pick any format above to get started.
Questions & Answers
Browse all 18 questions from the
Cybersecurity Milestones and Origins study set below.
Each question shows the correct answer — select a study format above to practice interactively.
1
What was the name of the first self-replicating program, created by Bob Thomas in 1971, that moved across ARPANET?
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A
Creeper
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B
Elk Cloner
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C
Brain
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D
Morris Worm
2
Which program, written by Rich Skrenta in 1982 for Apple II computers, is widely considered the first computer virus to spread in the wild?
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A
Creeper
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B
Elk Cloner
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C
Stuxnet
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D
ILOVEYOU
3
Who is credited with inventing the concept of the firewall in the late 1980s while working at Digital Equipment Corporation?
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A
Whitfield Diffie
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B
Marcus Ranum
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C
Ken Thompson
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D
Vint Cerf
4
Which company released the first commercial antivirus software, 'V-2000', in 1987?
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A
McAfee
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B
Symantec
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C
G Data Software
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D
Norton
5
In 1976, which two researchers published 'New Directions in Cryptography', introducing the concept of public-key cryptography?
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A
Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman
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B
Diffie and Hellman
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C
Shannon and Turing
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D
Cerf and Kahn
6
What was the first computer worm to cause significant, widespread damage across the internet in 1988?
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A
Code Red
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B
Morris Worm
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C
Nimda
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D
Melissa
7
Which cryptographic algorithm, developed by IBM in the 1970s and adopted as a federal standard in 1977, stands for Data Encryption Standard?
8
The first spam email was sent over ARPANET in 1978 by Gary Thuerk; what product was he advertising?
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A
Digital Equipment Corporation computers
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B
Insurance policies
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C
Unsolicited medical supplements
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D
Online gambling
9
In 1999, the 'Melissa' virus made history as one of the first mass-mailing macro viruses; what format did it primarily use to spread?
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A
PDF documents
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B
Microsoft Word documents
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C
JPEG images
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D
Executable .exe files
10
What is the name of the first publicly recognized 'botnet' discovered in the late 1990s, used primarily for IRC-based attacks?
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A
Zeus
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B
Sub7
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C
GTbot
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D
Storm
11
What was the name of the first major malware designed specifically to target industrial control systems, discovered in 2010?
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A
Stuxnet
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B
Duqu
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C
Flame
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D
Gauss
12
In 1991, Philip Zimmermann released which encryption software, which became the standard for secure email communication?
13
The 'Brain' virus, discovered in 1986, is notable for being the first computer virus to target which operating system?
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A
MS-DOS
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B
Unix
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C
MacOS
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D
Linux
14
Which company developed 'SSL' (Secure Sockets Layer) in 1994 to enable secure transactions on the internet?
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A
Microsoft
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B
Netscape
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C
Oracle
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D
Sun Microsystems
15
What was the first commercial 'Antivirus' software marketed specifically to personal computer users by John McAfee in 1987?
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A
McAfee VirusScan
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B
Norton Antivirus
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C
Dr. Solomon's
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D
F-Secure
16
The concept of 'Computer Security' was formally addressed in 1970 with the release of the 'Ware Report', commissioned by which organization?
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A
NSA
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B
The US Air Force
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C
Microsoft
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D
CERN
17
Which common web security protocol was first introduced as an experimental browser feature in 1995 to replace the insecure 'telnet'?
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A
SSH
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B
FTP
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C
HTTP
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D
Gopher
18
In 2000, the 'ILOVEYOU' worm caused massive disruption globally; how did it propagate?
-
A
Via network vulnerabilities
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B
Through email attachments
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C
By exploiting browser bugs
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D
Via physical USB drives
