As we all know that technology, over the past few decades, has been an integral part of any workplace. As a part of living, the digital era is now understanding that our private information is more revered than ever before. As you must be aware of the news stories about data breaches and the ID theft abound, the effects are being felt across the globe by millions of consumers.
In 2018, as per the reports and analysis, approximately 945 data breaches lead to 5 billion records which were being compromised by the unauthorized users. Anything that relies on the internet for communication or is connected with different smart devices can be insecure by the breach. Henceforth, this shows why cybersecurity is important for the IT world.
The world with cybersecurity is never a dull one. And it is really important to understand “what is cybersecurity?”, that is being explained below.
What is Cybersecurity?
To make your thought more clear on ‘What is Cybersecurity?’, it refers to a set of different techniques being used to protect the integrity of the programs, networks, and data from the cyber-attack, unauthorized attacks, and damage.
We can also call cybersecurity as an information technology security. In other words, we can define cybersecurity as a practice of protecting the systems, programs, and networks from the digital attacks. The main aim of these cyber-attacks is at changing, accessing or destroying the sensitive information, interrupting the normal business process and hence, extorting money from users.
According to Forbes, we can assume that the global security market is expected to reach 170 bn by 2020. This expeditious growth is being fueled by an unlimited array of technology trends, which even includes an onslaught of initiatives with some ever-evolving security requirements, like the internet of things (IoT) and ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD). The security needs are yet being extended with the rapid adoption of cloud-based applications.
Cybersecurity is not only useful in the government and the business, but even your tablet, cellphone, and computer can also use it, which contain the information that hackers and other such criminals would be willing to have. Some of this information would be other user’s names, bank details, birthdate, email address and more. For instance, consider a hacker had access to your information. What next? He could send text messages or an email to everyone, by using your name, and may encourage them to click on a link that contains malware, such as “Hey Albert, I guess you’d like this! Click Here.”
In a connected world, we each are equally responsible to protect ourselves and even the people we interact with, and this all can be done with the proper guidance of cybersecurity.
After having an overview of ‘What is Cybersecurity?’ let’s have a deep dive on ‘why cybersecurity is important?’
Why Cybersecurity Is Important?
Cybersecurity is important in n number of aspects. As we are all aware that unprecedented amounts of data are stored on computers and other devices at military, government, corporate, medical and financial organizations. And a significant portion of that data can prove to be a piece of sensitive information, that can be anything like personal data, financial data, intellectual property, financial or any other type of data, to which unauthorized access or exposure should have negative consequences.
To protect this sensitive data, cybersecurity came in the ground. As organizations transmit the data across the networks and to the other devices, here cybersecurity describes the dedicated disciplines for protecting that sensitive data and the even the systems used to process it.
The importance of it arises when the sophistication and volume of the cyber-attacks grow, especially to those tasks where the safeguarding of information is related to the national security, health, or financial records.
As per the reports of the nation’s top intelligence officials have cautioned that digital spying and the cyber-attacks are appearing as a top threat to the security of the nation which even eclipsing the terrorism. Here’s how the cybersecurity plays a major role.
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You might be thinking about what types of cyber threats can affect your system, well we have an answer for all your question. Below are some listed threats you should be aware of;
Types of Cyber Threats
It’s always important that one should be aware of some top cyber threat that can target computer networks or personal computer devices, computer information system and many other devices.
Denial-of-service (DoS)
A Denial-of-service attack overwhelms a system’s resources and from thereafter it will not be able to respond to any service requests. In another way, it can be stated as an attack that floods servers, networks or systems with anonymous traffic just to exhaust the resources and bandwidth. Here attackers can even use multiple compromised devices to launch this attack.
Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack
A man-in-the-middle attack is one of the most popular attacks across the globe, this attack occurs when a hacker inserts him/herself between the ongoing communication of a client and server. For instance, the attack may unfold like this,
- A client will connect to a server.
- The attacker gains control if the client’s computer.
- Hence the attacker will disconnect the client from the server.
- And then, the attacker replaces the client’s IP address with its own IP address and will even spoof the client’s sequence number.
- The attacker will continue communication with the server and here server believes that it is communicating with the client.
SQL Injection Attack
SQL (Structured Query Language) inject has become a very common attack on the database-driven websites. This attack mainly occurs when a malefactor executes a query to the database via an input data sent from client to server. An attacker can carry out the SQL injection simply just by submitting malicious code into a vulnerable website search box.
Malware
Malware the term itself suggests that malicious software, which breaches a network through its vulnerability, especially when a user clicks some unknown dangerous links or email attachment that further will automatically install a risk software to the system. Once the malware is being installed to the system it can covertly obtain the sensitive information by transmitting the data from the hard drive. It can even disrupt certain system components and renders the system inoperable.
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Phishing
The phishing attack is a practice by an attacker for sending some fraudulent emails that appear to be mailed by some trusted sources, and therefore they aim at gaining the personal data like a credit card or login information or even to install malware on the victim’s machine. It is noted by some deep analysis that phishing is increasing the cyber threat.
Now you know some of the cyber threats, and very well understood why cybersecurity is important. Let us see how you can safeguard your system with the help of cybersecurity companies.
Cybersecurity Companies
With high-profile cyber-attacks in the news almost every day, it is high time to go for cybersecurity companies that can protect your system.
With so much money at stake, thousands of vendors have flooded in the market, which in turn makes it difficult for you to select the right company. Here are some of the most reputable cybersecurity companies you can go for.
Cisco
With the dominance in networking, Cisco even has a very impressive roster for the cybersecurity products. With the acquirement of a number of security vendors, they offer a complete lineup of cybersecurity products of any vendor. It is one of the largest cybersecurity vendors in the world.
Microsoft
When things come to Microsoft, cybersecurity products might not strike to your mind, but actually, it sells quite different cybersecurity solutions. The most widely used cybersecurity solution by Microsoft is access management and active directory for identity. They even offer several cybersecurity solutions through its Azure cloud computing platform.
McAfee
McAfee is one of the most popular cybersecurity service providers. It offers antivirus and identity protection for consumers, as well as a wide range of cybersecurity products for the enterprise. As per the company’s website, it has a wider range of consumers with 80% of the world’s largest bank.
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Proofpoint
The self-proclaimed, “leader in advanced cybersecurity solutions”, Proofpoint claims to block risk in 7 billion mobile apps, 600 million emails, and even the hundreds of thousands of social media accounts every day. It boasts 95% of the customer satisfaction rate and 90% of the renewal date.
After having some insights on the cybersecurity companies, let us through some light on what will be the future of cybersecurity?
Future of Cybersecurity
It is assumed that cybersecurity is tightly connected with the future of advancement of the cyberspace and the information technology. Today, most of our critical systems are driven and interconnected by computers. In the future, we can say that this connection will be even tighter and more decision automated. That indirectly will require effective cybersecurity. As the complexity and connectivity of these systems are directly impacted by their level of vulnerability.
In short, a cybersecurity defense system will be in need to turn into a more sophisticated thereby to cope up with a huge amount of data. As cyber-attacks continue to skyrocket and criminals continue to use more and more complex methods, the shaping of future cybersecurity with cutting-edge technology will be the main goal.
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Parting Thoughts
As we have seen above, all businesses, irrespective of its size, need to ensure to be up to date on the latest cybersecurity and cyber threats and find the best way to protect the sensitive data. As just a single virus or cyber-attack can destroy your system completely. With a few effective cybersecurity measures, you can safeguard your systems.
Share Your Thoughts with Us!
How well did you like our blog “Importance of Cybersecurity Explained”? Are you aware of some latest trends that we might’ve missed out? Let us know in the comment section below.
I like that you talked about the importance of cyber-security because you can be a victim of hackers when you ignore mainstream advice around avoiding clicking on suspicious links.
Thanks for a great article! I think you did a great job of highlighting the real and present threat!