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Cybersecurity & Digital Privacy: Full History Explained

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks and data from unauthorized access or disruption; digital privacy governs how personal data is col…

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EARLY ENCRYPTION & CODEBREA…

World War II Accelerates Encryption and Codebreaking

Wartime need for secure communication drove major cryptography advances, from the Axis Enigma machine to Allied codebreaking at Bletchley Park -- laying the foundational…

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FIRST SELF-REPLICATING PROG…

Creeper Marks the Dawn of Self-Replicating Code

Bob Thomas at BBN wrote Creeper, an experimental program that moved between ARPANET hosts displaying a message, then removed itself from the previous one. Not malicious,…

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MORRIS WORM

The Morris Worm Becomes the Internet's First Major Security Crisis

Robert Tappan Morris released a self-replicating program to gauge the internet's size; a bug in its own logic caused it to disable an estimated 6,000 of the roughly 60,0…

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ILOVEYOU WORM

ILOVEYOU Proves Email Is a Weapon

Written by Onel de Guzman, this worm overwrote files and mass-mailed itself via Outlook contacts, infecting more than 10 million machines with damage estimated around $1…

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STUXNET DISCOVERED

Stuxnet Becomes the First Cyberweapon Confirmed to Cause Physical Damage

Malware targeting Siemens industrial control systems damaged an estimated 1,000-2,000 centrifuges at Iran's Natanz enrichment facility while feeding operators false read…

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RIGHT TO PRIVACY

India's Supreme Court Declares Privacy a Fundamental Right

A nine-judge bench unanimously ruled in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India that privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution -- the…

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GDPR TAKES EFFECT

GDPR Becomes the Modern Global Template for Privacy Law

The EU's General Data Protection Regulation took effect, introducing extraterritorial reach, a 72-hour breach-notification rule, and penalties up to 20 million euros or…

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CERT-IN 6-HOUR RULE

CERT-In's Cyber Security Directions Take Effect in India

CERT-In's April 2022 Directions, effective June 28, 2022, require covered organizations to report a defined list of cyber incidents within six hours of becoming aware of…

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DPDP ACT ASSENTED

India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act Receives Presidential Assent

India's first comprehensive data-protection statute establishes consent-based processing, data-fiduciary obligations, and penalties up to 250 crore rupees per instance o…

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DPDP RULES NOTIFIED

India's DPDP Rules Are Notified, Starting a Phased Rollout

MeitY notified the DPDP Rules, 2025 alongside constituting the four-member Data Protection Board of India, starting an 18-month phased compliance window running to full…

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