It is often a standard part of most IT service and support packages to incorporate network security as a key cornerstone of their work.

From firewalls, virus scanners and malware detection tools to courses on spotting phishing and social engineering traps, computer security is a major priority for almost every business reliant on its computer network.

This was not always the case however, but before the Data Protection Act in 1998 and the widespread proliferation of viruses, spyware and network security breaches in the 2000s and 2010s, one notorious virus panic caused people to take computer security seriously.

Whilst computer viruses had existed since the 1970s and widespread infections had been seen in certain industries thanks to the Brain and PC Cyborg outbreaks, Michelangelo was the first widespread computer outbreak to receive international attention outside of technology and industry circles.

Michelangelo was a relatively unsophisticated variant of the Stoned virus that would add itself to the start-up process and when activated on 6th March, would corrupt a hard disk just enough to make data irretrievable for people unfamiliar with programming.

At the time, many viruses did this, but what made Michelangelo notable was that it was accidentally included with some pieces of commercial software, meaning that far more users than hobbyists or targeted victims were potentially vulnerable to the virus.

News reports led to claims that anywhere from a few thousand to a few million computers could be at risk of losing data, although in reality the risk of data loss was believed to be the same as a random hardware fault.

However, a side effect of the virus scare is that people bought antivirus software, which left them better prepared for more intensive virus risks that would start to arrive along with the modern internet in the late 1990s.

Before the internet became essential for businesses, IT was often neglected by businesses but the events of 6th March 1992 convinced many people to take it seriously.