"History is the study of all the world's crime." ~Voltaire

Sipping from the Fire Hose

The world is lousy with malware. It seems not a day passes without headlines decrying another ransomware attack, malware strain, or APT group. It can feel overwhelming for users and admins seeking to protect valuable data and assets. For security professionals, staying abreast of the latest developments and trends can seem an impossible task.

How did we get here? Where did all this malware come from, and why was it created? What fresh malware does the future have in store, and is there anything we can do to stop it?

In pursuit of answers, we should consider not only today's headlines, but the history of malware as a whole—much of which is deeply rooted within a greater geopolitical context.

The following sections aim to provide an overview of malware history, from its origins to the present day. The full timeline of malware history is beyond the scope of this website, so we must distill it, curating the most interesting and useful elements for our purpose. We hope you enjoy our selection.

Also, much of this information is gathered from Wikipedia, which will make many college professors cringe. To those professors, I say: submit an issue on GitHub if you find a mistake in this content, and if you're feeling really generous, correct the mistake on Wikipedia. (Just be sure to cite a credible source.)

Without further ado, let us begin.