A Look Back at 2000 - A Year to Remember
2000 would have to be considered the most interesting, if not the most eventful, year of technology ever. The year began with a sigh of relief as Y2K passed with little more than a whimper. Internet security, B2B vs. B2C and Napster moved computing news onto the front pages. Microsoft suffered a major anti-trust defeat in the courts; dot-coms became dot-toast; and the air was let out of the NASDAQ balloon. And while dimpled, hanging, bulging and pregnant chads dominated the news front for the last quarter of the year, the biggest news in technology was security.
Denial-of-service attacks dominated technology and consumer media. In May, the ³I Love You² virus exploited serious holes in Microsoft Corp.ıs Outlook client, causing corporations all over the world to shut down their email systems. If estimates are correct, the ³I Love You² virus may have been the most costly virus in history. According to the research firm Computer Economics, the virus cost businesses $6.7 billion in just five days.
Then, near the end of the year, political activist hackers targeted OPEC and Israeli government sites and, of course, Microsoft, with a corporate attack that demonstrated a new level of sophistication. Many people are predicting 2001 will not be any better. The culprits in 2000, after the hackers, were application and security vendors that left holes in their software, as well as IT managers who left holes in their networks. As a result, services have become a major part of any comprehensive security plan.
According to recent survey data, nine out of ten companies and government organizations reported security breaches in the past year. Security has finally made it to the forefront in the boardrooms of America, and it doesnıt look like the problem will go away anytime soon.
