The birth of cybersecurity took place in the 1970s when the researcher Bob Thomas established a computer programme called the “Creeper” that had the potential to glide across ARPANET’s network and leave a breadcrumb trail wherever it got directed.
However, it was Ray Tomlinson, the inventor of email, who wrote the programme Reaper that chased and deleted creepers. Reaper was the first example of antivirus software, as well as the first self-replicating program, making it the first computer worm.