Back in the day, the first whack at ransomware went down 35 years ago
Straight talk from the streets of Frankfurt
Ransomware Transforms into a Profitable Enterprise
In the 80s, a virus sent chills down spines—AIDS was spreading like wildfire worldwide. This dread virus also played a part in the rise of digital calamity—the first wave of computer mischief. In the chilly month of December, 1989, malicious software made its way onto floppy disks marked "AIDS Info," all meatspace style. Thousands of unsuspecting folks received these disks via snail mail. Pop that sucker into your PC, and—bingo!—the malware sprang to life. To get back into their systems, victims were ordered to send some dough to a joint in Panama City.
Insight: This digital heist was the work of Joseph L. Popp, a Harvard-educated biologist, who concocted this AIDS-themed ransomware as a scam against attendees of an AIDS conference organized by the World Health Organization. The disks, masquerading as a risk assessment questionnaire for HIV, encrypted files using a simple symmetric encryption method. But, thanks to the network's wise heads, a decryption key was discovered, making a ransom payment unnecessary for victims to reclaim their data.[1][2][4]
In the 80s, the digital landscape witnessed a new form of calamity with the rise of computer mischief, including the first recorded ransomware. Over three decades later, the field of cybersecurity continues to grapple with advancements in technology to combat such digital threats.
