"By , an estimated 50 million users were connected to the Internet worldwide. With the , the program came into existence with the goal of connecting millions of schools. was founded in 1999 to set standards for , which was already blossoming. The business and media worlds were rocked in 2000 when and announced their merger, making the marriage of the media industry and a reality. In , during a strong period of innovation, the first cyber-age robbery occurred in Russia. The theft of millions of dollars from showed the world the ramifications of the misuse of this new technology."