Hello and welcome to malicious life by Cyberism. I'm Ran Levy.

Graham Cloulli is a British security journalist, blogger and podcaster who writes about the information

security world since the early 1990s. Kooli is also a frequent guest on our podcast and in this episode we'll hear an interview I did

with Cluelly about the early days of information security.

Why did computer experts back then believe that computer viruses were just a myth?

Why did virus authors have superhero names such as The Dark Avenger?

Lots of interesting and fun stories. for joining this interview. So let's start with you introducing yourself and tell me how you started in information security.

Huh, yeah, so my name is Graham Clouley, and I've been working in the field of computer security

since around about 1991, I think, or 1992. when I began my life as a programmer at a company called

S&S International who produced a piece of software called Dr Solomon's Antivirus Tool

Kit which was one of Europe Solomon's Antivirus Toolkit, which was one of Europe's

leading antivirus products at the time.

And Alan Solomon was a real guy and he needed a Windows programmer and I came into the industry via a rather strange route which is that when I was at college

I had been writing computer games and at the end of my computer games it would put up a very sad message

about how I was a poor impoverished computer programmer

and if only people would send me a check for five or ten pounds, I would be able to fulfil my

dream of visiting my girlfriend who was studying in Paris and go down to the

supermarket and buy a trolleyload of cheesy biscuits.

And people liked my games and they did actually send me some money which was fantastic at the time you know because I was just a young student and

one day I got back home and there was a big box on my desk

sorry box on at the front door and I opened it up and inside amongst all the polystyrene was a copy of Dr Solomon's antivirus toolkit

which is very nice a check for 20 pounds much more than I'd asked for and most importantly a packet of cheesy biscuits so I hadn't actually had to go down the supermarket and there was a letter from Alan Solomon saying my kids love your games if you want a job get in touch. And I was desperate for a programming job at the time.

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