The intended message, the full word login, wastruncated by a computer crash.
Much more traffic than that travels through the internet these days, withbillionsof emails sent and searches conducted daily.
Here are five key moments in this journey.
1978: Encryption failure
Early internet pioneers, in some ways, were remarkably farsighted.
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But the U.S. intelligence community objected, though officials didnt publicly say why.
The only reason their intervention is public is becauseCerf hinted at it in a 1983 paperhe co-authored.
As a result, basically all of todays internet users have to handlecomplex passwordsandmulti-factor authentication systemsto ensure secure communications.
People with more advanced security needs often usevirtual private networksor specialized privacy software likeTorto encrypt theironline activity.
However, computers may not have had enough processing power to effectively encrypt internet communications.
Hundreds of scientists from various governments collaborated to devise what they called theOpen Systems Interconnectionstandard.
It was a complex method thatcritics considered inefficient and difficult to scaleacross existing networks.
Cerf and Kahn, however, proposed another way, calledTransmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.
TCP/IP worked more like the regular mail wrapping up messages in packages and putting the address on the outside.
It was free for anyone to copy and use on their own computers.
TCP/IP given that it both worked and was free enabled therapid, global scaling of the internet.
TCP/IP made the internet cheaper, more innovative and less tied to official government standards.
In response, Congress passed theCommunications Decency Act, which sought to regulate indecency and obscenity in cyberspace.
This single sentenceprovided legal securitythat allowed the U.S. technology industry to flourish.
Critics note that Section 230 also allows social media sites likeFacebook and Twitter to operate largely without regulation.
But thats hard for people to remember its much easier to recall something like indiana.edu.
Other groups that manage key aspects of internet communications have different structures.
The Internet Engineering Task Force, for instance, is avoluntary technical organizationopen to anyone.
There aredrawbacks to that approach, but it would have lessened both the reality and perception of U.S. control.
It was among the first known digital attacks thatactually caused physical damage.
These days, nations use cyberattacks with increasing regularity, attacking a range ofmilitaryand evenciviliantargets.
