The History of Security: How Protective Measures Evolved Over Time

As human beings, our number one goal is survival. In order to pass on our genetic material generation after generation, we need to have some effective methods of protecting ourselves from harm. Though the threats to our safety and health have changed over the years, so too have our strategies to avoid them.

Recently, a data security company launched an informative website called The History of Security that shows just how safety methods have evolved throughout the millennia.

Back in the stone ages, the biggest threat to our safety was physical harm. Our Neanderthal ancestors feared predatory animals and human enemies. The best was to protect ourselves back then was shelter and rudimentary weapons.

As the years passed, it became crucial to protect towns from opposing kingdoms. Moats and natural barriers were created to keep entire villages out of harm’s way.

Personal safety still remained critical, but humans began to have personal wealth and belongings of value. It was suddenly important to protect these items with vaults, safes, and other methods of security.

Today, we keep much of our most private and personal information online. Credit card numbers, bank accounts, and social security numbers are often stored in the cloud until we need access to them. Luckily, there are methods of protection beyond passwords that keep our data safe. Leading data security companies stress the role of encryption and tokenization with keeping individual’s information safe and away from prying eyes.

At no point in history was security a non-issue. It’s inherent to the human condition that we feel a need to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our valuables. Over the years however, the manner with which we opted to keep these secure has shifted.

Many people today fear that data is vulnerable to hackers and “bad guys” but in fact, in many ways we are safer than ever before. Though there are some breaches in protection from time to time, for the most part, we are far safer and our personal information far more secure than the days when humans were forced to ward off enemies with clubs and sticks.

Consider the information presented in the History of Security piece and decide for yourself just how much security has evolved over time.