Red Hat ENTERPRISE LINUX 3 - SECURITY GUIDE Manual page 14

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more information) that prompted organizations across all industries to rethink the way they handle
information transmission and disclosure. The popularity of the Internet was one of the most important
developments that prompted an intensified effort in data security.
An ever-growing number of people are using their personal computers to gain access to the resources
that the Internet has to offer. From research and information retrieval to electronic mail and commerce
transaction, the Internet has been regarded as one of the most important developments of the 20th
century.
The Internet and its earlier protocols, however, were developed as a trust-based system. That is, the
Internet Protocol was not designed to be secure in itself. There are no approved security standards built
into the TCP/IP communications stack, leaving it open to potentially malicious users and processes
across the network. Modern developments have made Internet communication more secure, but there
are still several incidents that gain national attention and alert us to the fact that nothing is completely
safe.
1.1.2. Computer Security Timeline
Several key events contributed to the birth and rise of computer security. The following lists some of
the most important events that brought attention to computer and information security and its impor-
tance today.
1.1.2.1. The 1960s
Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) form the Tech Model Railroad Club
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(TMRC) begin exploring and programming the school's PDP-1 mainframe computer system. The
group eventually use the term "hacker" in the context it is known today.
The DoD creates the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANet), which gains pop-
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ularity in research and academic circles as a conduit for the electronic exchange of data and infor-
mation. This paves the way for the creation of the carrier network known today as the Internet.
Ken Thompson develops the UNIX operating system, widely hailed as the most "hacker-friendly"
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OS because of its accessible developer tools and compilers, and its supportive user community.
Around the same time, Dennis Ritchie develops the C programming language, arguably the most
popular hacking language in computer history.
1.1.2.2. The 1970s
Bolt, Beranek, and Newman, a computing research and development contractor for government
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and industry, develops the Telnet protocol, a public extension of the ARPANet. This opens doors
to public use of data networks once restricted to government contractors and academic researchers.
Telnet, though, is also arguably the most insecure protocol for public networks, according to several
security researchers.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak found Apple Computer and begin marketing the Personal Computer
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(PC). The PC is the springboard for several malicious users to learn the craft of cracking systems
remotely using common PC communication hardware such as analog modems and war dialers.
Jim Ellis and Tom Truscott create USENET, a bulletin-board style system for electronic commu-
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nication between disparate users. USENET quickly becomes one the most popular forums for the
exchange of ideas in computing, networking, and, of course, cracking.
Chapter 1. Security Overview