1960:
MIT's Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS) introduces an early form of computer-based messaging called "MAIL" for users to leave messages for each other.
1971:
Ray Tomlinson (Picture) sends the first email, marking the birth of modern email communication.
Tomlinson chooses the "@" symbol to separate the user's name from the computer they are using, creating the standard email address format.
1972:
The first email protocols, including ARPANET's "SEND" and "READ" commands are developed for sending and receiving messages.
1976:
Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first head of state to send an email during a demonstration of ARPANET. Article
1978:
The first documented spam email is sent by Gary Thuerk, a marketing manager at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). Thuerk sends unsolicited emails to 393 recipients promoting DEC's new line of computers. This event marks the beginning of spam email as we know it.
1979:
Graduate student, Shiva Ayyadurai with some help from Dr. Leslie P. Michelson, develop "EMAIL," an electronic mail system, while working at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. It includes features such as inbox, outbox, folders, and more.
1980s:
Development of SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) begins, standardizing the way emails are sent and received.
The first commercial email service, MCI Mail, was launched by MCI Communications.
BITNET (Because It's Time Network) is established, providing email and file transfer services to academic and research institutions.
1990s:
The World Wide Web becomes publicly available, leading to a surge in internet usage and email adoption.
AOL Mail, Yahoo! Mail, and Hotmail (later Outlook.com) are launched, becoming some of the most popular web-based email services.
Astronauts Shannon Lucid and James C. Adamson sent the first email from space on a Macintosh Portable: “Hello Earth! Greetings from the STS-43 Crew. This is the first AppleLink from space. Having a GREAT time, wish you were here,...send cryo and RCS! Hasta la vista, baby,...we'll be back!”
1993/4:
The term "spam" is coined to describe unwanted, unsolicited email. It originates from a Monty Python sketch where the word "spam" is repeated excessively.
Lawyers Laurence Canter and Martha Siegel send a mass Usenet post advertising their immigration law services. This incident, known as the "Green Card spam," attracts widespread attention and contributes to the negative perception of spam.
Late 1990s:
Microsoft purchased Hotmail for approximately $400 million.
The volume of spam email increases dramatically as the internet becomes more widely accessible, and email marketing practices become more prevalent.
Spammers begin using automated software programs, known as "spam bots," to harvest email addresses from websites and online forums.
2000s:
Gmail is launched by Google, offering users a large storage capacity and innovative features.
CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 is enacted in the United States to regulate commercial email and combat spam.
Mobile email usage increases with the rise of smartphones and mobile devices.
Sender Policy Framework (SPF) was created in 2003 by Meng Weng Wong, an engineer and entrepreneur, as an email validation system to prevent email spoofing and phishing attacks.
DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) was developed as an email authentication method to help detect email spoofing and phishing attacks. It was initially proposed by Mark Delany, an engineer at Yahoo, and Eric Allman, the creator of Sendmail, in 2004.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) was proposed by a group of industry experts, including representatives from major email providers such as Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and PayPal, in 2011. The final specification was published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in March 2015.
The proliferation of spam email becomes a significant problem for internet users, causing email inboxes to become inundated with unwanted messages.
Legislation is introduced in various countries to combat spam, including the CAN-SPAM Act in the United States and the European Union's Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications.
Anti-spam technologies and filtering techniques become more sophisticated, helping to reduce the impact of spam on email users.
Spammers adapt to anti-spam measures by using tactics such as image-based spam, where messages are embedded within images to evade detection.
Malicious spam campaigns, such as phishing attacks and malware distribution, became increasingly prevalent. Phishing emails, for example, attempted to deceive recipients into providing sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, or personal details by posing as legitimate organizations or institutions.
Spammers also began distributing malware (malicious software) via email attachments or links. This malware could include viruses, worms, Trojans, ransomware, and other types of malicious software designed to compromise the recipient's computer or network.
2010s:
Rise of social media platforms and instant messaging services leads to predictions of the decline of email, but email remains a dominant form of communication.
Implementation of DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) protocol to improve email security.
The sophistication and prevalence of malicious spam continued to increase, with spammers constantly evolving their techniques to evade detection and maximize their success rates.
Spam emails became increasingly targeted and personalized, using social engineering tactics to exploit human psychology and increase the likelihood of success.
Botnets, networks of compromised computers controlled by cybercriminals, played a significant role in the distribution of spam and malware. These botnets could send out massive volumes of spam emails while also being used for other nefarious activities such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
2020:
COVID-19 pandemic leads to a surge in email usage for remote work, communication, and information dissemination.
Increased focus on email security and privacy amid concerns over data breaches and phishing attacks.