Historical evolution of exploitation techniques
The landscape of cyber exploitation techniques has evolved significantly over the past few decades, driven by advancements in technology, increasing connectivity, and the continuous arms race between attackers and defenders. Understanding this evolution provides valuable context for current and future cybersecurity challenges:
- Early days of simple exploits and script kiddies: In the early days of the internet, exploitation techniques were relatively simple and often relied on well-known vulnerabilities in widely used software. Exploits were typically crafted by individuals with moderate technical skills, commonly referred to as “script kiddies.” These early exploits included buffer overflows and basic password-guessing attacks.
- The rise of worms and viruses: The late 1990s and early 2000s saw the rise of self-replicating malware such as worms and viruses. Notable examples include the Morris Worm (1988) and the...
