Questions & Answers
Browse all 15 questions from the
Cybersecurity History Essentials 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 computer worm to spread across the internet in 1988?
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A
The Morris Worm
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B
The Melissa Virus
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C
The ILOVEYOU Worm
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D
The Blaster Worm
2
In which decade was the first computer virus, Creeper, discovered on the ARPANET?
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A
1950s
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B
1970s
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C
1990s
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D
2000s
3
Which company released the first commercial antivirus software in 1987?
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A
Microsoft
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B
McAfee
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C
G Data
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D
Norton
4
What was the primary goal of the ARPANET Reaper program created in the 1970s?
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A
To steal data
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B
To delete the Creeper worm
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C
To encrypt files
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D
To create a backup
5
The 'ILOVEYOU' worm, which caused massive global disruption in 2000, was primarily spread via which method?
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A
USB drives
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B
Email attachments
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C
Social media links
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D
Software updates
6
Which famous cryptographer is known for cracking the Enigma code during World War II?
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A
Charles Babbage
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B
Alan Turing
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C
Ada Lovelace
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D
John von Neumann
7
What is the name of the 1999 email-based worm that caused widespread damage by masquerading as an important document?
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A
Melissa
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B
Conficker
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C
Stuxnet
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D
WannaCry
8
Which protocol, developed in the 1990s, became the standard for secure web communication by encrypting data between a browser and a server?
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A
HTTP
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B
FTP
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C
SSL
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D
SMTP
9
What was the first known virus to specifically target Microsoft Word documents?
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A
Concept
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B
Nimda
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C
SQL Slammer
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D
Code Red
10
In 1998, a group of hackers known as the 'Cult of the Dead Cow' released which popular remote administration tool?
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A
Back Orifice
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B
NetBus
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C
Sub7
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D
DarkComet
11
Which international agency is responsible for the 'Common Criteria' for information technology security evaluation?
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A
ISO
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B
FBI
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C
NASA
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D
UNICEF
12
The Morris Worm was created by a student at which prestigious university?
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A
Harvard
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B
MIT
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C
Cornell
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D
Stanford
13
Which operating system was the primary target of the 'Code Red' worm in 2001?
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A
Windows Server/IIS
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B
Linux
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C
macOS
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D
MS-DOS
14
What does the acronym 'RSA' stand for in the context of the famous public-key cryptosystem?
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A
Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman
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B
Rapid Security Access
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C
Reliable System Authentication
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D
Root Security Array
15
Which 1983 event was the first time a 'virus' was formally defined in an academic paper by Fred Cohen?
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A
The birth of the first computer virus
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B
The publication of 'Computer Viruses - Theory and Experiments'
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C
The first firewall implementation
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D
The invention of the mouse
