by Constantine von HoffmanThis month marks the 20th anniversary of the release of the first computer virus! HOORAY and HUZZAH! Yes, while others gnash their teeth and curse the day that the “boot sector virus, Brain, which infected computers via floppy disk” was unleashed, I say it is difficult to think of a bigger boon to the IT community. Why just in the last week we’ve had the “Kama Sutra” virus, an as-yet-unnamed keylogging Trojan, Oracle releasing its now quarterly security upgrades and, of course, the almost daily fixes to some part of a Microsoft product. It is estimated that there are currently some 150K viruses attacking our computers and networks. Without malignant hackers and viruses the world would literally be a much poorer place today. Think of the number of corporations, business units, faculty positions, government agencies and jobs that exist solely to address these problems. This day should be celebrated throughout the world as Geek Employment Day. So blessings upon you, Mr. or Ms. Unknown Writer of The Brain. Let us all acknowledge a job well done. May your efforts continue to be fruitful and multiply. Nor is this the only anniversary of note this year. In an apparently successful effort to garner some attention, Marc Levinson claims that this is the 50th anniversary of the shipping container. He has even written a book about it: THE BOX: How the Shipping Container made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger. I have not read it yet. I am waiting for the terminal insomnia to kick in first. Why Compatibility Matters You certainly want your communication system to work well with that of your primary customers. That’s the lesson learned by Dunkin’ Donuts in Keene, NH, whose computer system clashes with that of the police. “Police using the drive-through have to disconnect their computer modems to avoid clashing with the restaurants’ system.” What would Chief Wiggum say? What’s your favorite virus? Post a comment or drop me an email at cvonhoffman@cxo.com. Best response wins an actual prize. Related content opinion Website spoofing: risks, threats, and mitigation strategies for CIOs In this article, we take a look at how CIOs can tackle website spoofing attacks and the best ways to prevent them. By Yash Mehta Dec 01, 2023 5 mins CIO Cyberattacks Security brandpost Sponsored by Catchpoint Systems Inc. Gain full visibility across the Internet Stack with IPM (Internet Performance Monitoring) Today’s IT systems have more points of failure than ever before. Internet Performance Monitoring provides visibility over external networks and services to mitigate outages. By Neal Weinberg Dec 01, 2023 3 mins IT Operations brandpost Sponsored by Zscaler How customers can save money during periods of economic uncertainty Now is the time to overcome the challenges of perimeter-based architectures and reduce costs with zero trust. By Zscaler Dec 01, 2023 4 mins Security feature LexisNexis rises to the generative AI challenge With generative AI, the legal information services giant faces its most formidable disruptor yet. That’s why CTO Jeff Reihl is embracing and enhancing the technology swiftly to keep in front of the competition. By Paula Rooney Dec 01, 2023 6 mins Generative AI Digital Transformation Cloud Computing Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe