I just remembered a very interesting story from the history of cybersecurity. In the early 2000s, a 24-year-old Filipino programmer named Onel de Guzman created a virus, later known as the ILOVEYOU virus, which directly changed the entire landscape of internet security.

The spread method of this virus was actually very simple and crude—sent via email, disguised as a love letter attachment. Just such an apparently harmless thing ended up infecting over 10 million computers worldwide, with estimated economic losses ranging from $5 billion to $20 billion. The level of destruction at that time was truly unimaginable.

The craziest part is that Onel de Guzman was not prosecuted after writing this virus. Why? Because at that time, the Philippines had no laws to punish malicious software developers. This incident directly prompted the development and improvement of cybersecurity laws worldwide and raised the industry’s awareness of online threats to a new level.

Looking back at this case, many people might think—if it were themselves, would they also click on that 'love letter'? This question actually reflects the evolution of cybersecurity awareness. From Onel de Guzman’s era to now, we have learned a lot.