The History of Malware- From Floppies to Droppers

Presented at BSidesLV 2023, Aug. 8, 2023, 11:30 a.m. (45 minutes)

Modern malware, such as ransomware, has become synonymous with some of the most devastating cyber attacks of our time.. But it hasn't always been so. Not too long ago, malware was considered a myth. The first ransomware, for example, was created over 30 years ago as a wild scheme, devised by a man armed with 10,000 floppy disks and a virus. Since then, malware has evolved in many different ways, as technology changes and evolves. Looking back and analyzing this history gives us an unusual perspective- what elements of malware have changed throughout the years, and what has remained consistent? How has this evolved into the most impactful form of cybercrime today, and what can this surprising, untold history teach us about our present and future?

Presenters:

• Eliad Kimhy
  Eliad is the head of Akamai Security Research CORE Team guiding the development of the Akamai Security Research work. He was one of the creators and producers of the podcast Malicious Life which tells stories from the history of cybersecurity, and has a deep passion for the untold stories of hackers. Eliad has worked with security teams for over half a decade, helping build security research organizations and publishing blogs and reports for security researchers. He has spoken at conferences such as Insomnihack, Thotcon, BsidesSF, Code.talks, IT-SA, and TBX Netherlands.

Links:

• https://www.bsideslv.org/talks#VJTA3Z

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