10 of the worst moments in network security history By Ellen Messmer

There's not much spam in that: May 3, 1978 Digital Equipment Corp. marketing guy Gary Thuerk gets technical assistance to send what's regarded as the first "spam" message to thousands on the government-funded Arpanet, predecessor of today's Internet. Arpanet management decries the mass e-mail as a "flagrant violation" of Arpanet rules. Good thing they nipped that in the bud.