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Ideas

The history and ideas behind cybersecurity.

Engraving of a Chappe optical telegraph tower on a hill
Featured · Ideas

The first hack happened in 1834

Nearly two centuries before ransomware, phishing and computer viruses, two French brothers discovered how to exploit a government communications network to make money on the stock exchange. Their scheme involved bribery, secret signals and a rather ingenious use of an error-correction system. The remarkable part? When they were caught, the law struggled to find a crime.

10 October 2026 · 10 min read
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