Cybersecurity Expert Answers Hacking History Questions | WIRED

[Mindy]

WIRED
May 20, 2025

Cybersecurity architect and adjunct professor at NC State University Jeff Crume joins WIRED to answer the internet's burning questions about the history of hacking. What was the first computer virus? Who is the most influential hacker in history? How did hacking work before the internet? Have hackers ever taken down a government website? Do VPNs really offer the anonymity we think they do? What is a firewall and how does it work? Answers to these questions and many more await on Hacking History Support.

0:00 Hacking History Support
0:19 The most influential hacker ever
1:00 Hack: Origins
2:08 Vintage hacking
3:37 Have hackers ever taken down a government website?
4:42 Signal encryption/open-source
6:07 How much cyber security was there in the 90s?
8:19 Stuxnet virus
9:37 Sarcasm level readings are off the charts, captain.
10:46 Would you ban TikTok
12:00 Election security
12:53 ILOVEYOU
13:16 WannaCry
14:20 How can hackers shut down a pipeline?
15:48 What is a firewall and how does it work?
16:40 Do VPNs really offer the anonymity we think they do?
18:55 Mom, Elmo needs to know our routing number
20:12 Are password managers secure
21:54 How likely are you to catch a computer virus?
23:01 What hack has caused the most damage?
23:40 the CIA triad
24:10 What was the name of the first computer virus?
24:50 Freakin' Phone Phreaking
26:10 Shrek 2 (2004)