4 min read
Cybersecurity is important because it covers everything related to the protection of our sensitive data, personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information ( PHI), personal information, intellectual property, data, and theft and damage attempted by criminals and adversaries through government and industry information systems.
With the use of cloud services such as Amazon Web Services, which provide global connectivity and the ability to store personal information, cybersecurity risks are increasing rapidly. And the absence of a proper mechanism for cybersecurity would lead to a significant increase in sophisticated cybercrimes.
Cyber threats can originate from any strata of the organization. Engineering scams such as phishing and more sophisticated cybersecurity threats such as ransomware attacks (think WannaCry) or other viruses designed to steal proprietary information or private information must be made aware to staff for an early detection of cyber threats.
Gone are the days of your sole security measures being simple firewalls and antivirus software. Business leaders can no longer leave cybersecurity practitioners with information security.
What the hell is cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is the state or process in which computer systems, networks, devices, and programs are protected and recovered from any type of cyber attack. As attackers employ new methods powered by social engineering and artificial intelligence to circumvent traditional security controls, cyber-attacks are an increasingly sophisticated and evolving danger to your sensitive data.
The truth is that the world is increasingly reliant on technology, and this dependency will continue as we include the next generation of smart Internet-enabled devices via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi that have access to our networks.
The importance of cybersecurity
The significance of cybersecurity is on the increase. Basically, our society is more technologically dependent than ever, and there’s no sign that this trend is going to slow down. This can be understood by the sensitive data that is either shared publicly on social media handles in the form of social media posts or, credit and debit card information that is stored on cloud services such as Dropbox and Google Drive.
The reality is that every day, whether you are an individual, a small company, or a large multinational, you rely on computer systems. It is also quite evident how there has been an unprecedented advancement in the use of cloud services, IoT, and even smartphones. Needless to say, an infinite number of security threats have also been posed by this increase that was irrelevant a few decades ago.
Standard committees such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST) have been encouraged by this to launch a framework that will help organizations understand their security uncertainties, enhance security protocols, and prevent cybercrimes.
What is the reason behind increasing cybercrime?
Cybercriminals are becoming more advanced, changing what they are targeting, how they affect organizations, and their attack tactics for various security systems.
The simplest method of cyber attack remains social engineering, with the easiest form of entry being malware, phishing, and spyware. Another popular attack vector is third-party and fourth-party vendors that process your information and have bad cybersecurity practices, making vendor risk management and third-party risk management all the more essential.
The expected price of cybercrime for a business has risen by $1.4 million over the past year to $13.0 million, according to the Ninth Annual Cost of Cybercrime report from Accenture and the Ponemon Institute, and the average estimate of data breaches grew by 11 percent to 145.
Ways to ensure cybersecurity!
Securing ourself against malware
Defense against malware is undoubtedly one of today’s most significant problems (and it will continue to grow as malicious software). To combat any suspicious activity, and anti-virus software package is required. Typically, these bundles contain instruments that do everything from warning about questionable websites to flagging potentially dangerous emails.
Mobile protection
The top concern among cybersecurity experts is a system failure. It can be risky to leave our phones in a restaurant or the back of a ride-share. Fortunately, if this event happens, some resources are designed to restrict all cell phone access (or enforce multi-factor passwords). Application protection is also becoming another significant problem. Experts switch to cybersecurity tools that warn or fully block malicious behavior to tackle mobile apps that request too many rights, deploy Trojan viruses, or leak personal information.
Protection with Wi-Fi
Using public Wi-Fi will leave you vulnerable to several cyberattacks by a man-in-the-middle. Most cybersecurity experts recommend using the most up-to-date tools to safeguard against these attacks and avoid password-protected sites containing personal information (banking, social media, email, etc.). Arguably, using a virtual private network ( VPN) is the safest way to protect against a cyberattack on public Wi-Fi. VPNs establish a secure network, encrypting all data sent over a Wi-Fi link.
Conclusion
Why does cybersecurity matter? The response, hopefully, is now simple! In the coming years, it isn’t going to get any less important. Several reports point to a projected rise in attacks, and the numbers seem likely to become more startling and the financial losses more breathtaking. Although we continue to hand over to technology more elements of everyday life, this shouldn’t surprise us.
Our Take:
As the world continues to be more technology-reliant, cybercriminals have also learned to be steps ahead; modifying their tactics and patterns of attack to meet the growing cyber security measures adopted by companies. Given this growing threat, companies and individuals must beef up security strategies to avoid data compromise. Companies and individuals are encouraged to install anti-virus packages on their devices to detect any suspicious activity and warn users about malicious websites.
Source: Medium
