The first email was sent in 1971—almost 20 years before the web even existed

Sounds crazy, but it’s true: email is older than the World Wide Web. In 1971, U.S. programmer Ray Tomlinson sent the first message over ARPANET—long before websites, browsers, and search engines shaped our daily lives. And to this day, email remains one of the most important technologies in digital communication.

Email is not the web—and the web is not the Internet

These terms are often mixed up: The Internet is the worldwide network of connected computers. The web is a service that runs on it (HTTP/HTML/browsers), created in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Email is also an Internet service—just much older. In 1971, Tomlinson introduced the now-familiar @ (user@host), laying the foundation for addresses that can be routed globally.

Mini timeline

• 1971: First email over ARPANET; introduction of the @ symbol to separate user and machine.
• Early 1980s: Email standards mature (e.g., SMTP for sending); email spreads in research and industry.
• 1989–1991: Tim Berners-Lee develops the World Wide Web; first browsers/servers go live—the web takes off.
• 1990s: Email goes mainstream (POP/IMAP, MIME for attachments); businesses and consumers adopt it widely.

Why email is so long-lived

• Open standards: Any provider can build interoperable systems—email works worldwide across vendors.
• Store-and-forward: Messages are queued and delivered reliably—even if recipients are temporarily unreachable.
• Universality: One address is enough to reach anyone—regardless of app, OS, or device.

What that means today

Email remains the backbone of many business processes—and it’s also a favored entry point for attacks. To use it safely, rely on a layered defense:

• Authentication & identity: SPF, DKIM, DMARC against spoofing/BEC; strong MFA for accounts.
• Filtering & inspection: Email security with link and attachment analysis (sandbox/time-of-click), plus web/DNS filtering as a second barrier.
• Resilience: Proven processes (report phishing, dual-control approvals) and backups for business-critical data.

Conclusion

Email is an Internet pioneer—older than the web and still indispensable. Precisely because it’s so central, it should be at the top of every security strategy: standards-compliant, protected by multiple layers, and used by well-trained people.