'Cyber crime' sounds like a very new type of crime. In fact, it has been around since the 1970s - before the personal computer was invented, when computers far less powerful than today's games consoles filled entire rooms and were monitored by technicians.
The first cyber crimes were carried out across telephone lines, by a group of electronic enthusiasts known as 'phone phreakers'. Having studied the US telephone system, they realised that it used a series of musical tones to connect calls. They found they could imitate those tones, and steal free phone calls, by creating small musical devices called 'blue boxes'. One famous 'phreaker', John Draper, even discovered that using a whistle given away inside a cereal box could do the same job as a blue box.
The first cyber crimes were carried out across telephone lines, by a group of electronic enthusiasts known as 'phone phreakers'. Having studied the US telephone system, they realised that it used a series of musical tones to connect calls. They found they could imitate those tones, and steal free phone calls, by creating small musical devices called 'blue boxes'. One famous 'phreaker', John Draper, even discovered that using a whistle given away inside a cereal box could do the same job as a blue box.
