What is Cybersecurity?

Let’s face it, we live in a digital world. Our work lives, personal lives, and finances have all begun gravitating toward the world of the internet, mobile computing, and electronic media. Unfortunately, this widespread phenomenon makes us more vulnerable than ever to malicious attacks, invasions of privacy, fraud, and other such bad events.

That’s why Cybersecurity is such a vital part of a secure and well-ordered digital world. Cybersecurity keeps us safe from hackers, cyber-criminals, and other agents of fraud.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is the practice of defending computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data from malicious attacks. It’s also known as information technology security or electronic information security. This is used by individuals and enterprises to protect against unauthorized access to data centers and other computerized systems.

Cybersecurity is a continuously changing field, with the development of technologies that open up new avenues for cyber-attacks. To protect organizations, employees and individuals, organizations and services should implement cybersecurity tools, training, risk management approaches and continually update systems as technologies change and evolve.

Terminologies

1.Vulnerability

Vulnerability refers to the weakness of an asset that can be used as an exploit by a hacker.

It can be a bug in a software or a defect in hardware that needs to be fixed.

2.Threat

A threat is an event that can bring potential harm to an organization or individual. A threat can be,

1. Natural (Cyclones hitting a database)
2. Unintentional (Losing a pen drive with important files in bus)
3. Intentional ( Hacking into a system)

3.Risk

Risk refers to the potential of loss when a threat exploits a vulnerability.

Risk = Threat x Vulnerability

4.Exploit

A malicious application or script that can be used to take advantage of a computer’s vulnerability.

5.Breach

The moment a hacker successfully exploits a vulnerability in a computer or device and gains access to its files and network.

6.Malware

An umbrella term that describes all forms of malicious software designed to wreak havoc on a computer. Common forms include Virus, Trojans, Worms and Ransomware.

7.Firewall

Firewall is a network security system that filters unsanctioned incoming and outgoing traffic.

8.Pen testing

Short for “penetration testing,” this practice is a means of evaluating security using hacker tools and techniques with the aim of discovering vulnerabilities and evaluating security flaws.

9.Encryption

The process of encoding data to prevent theft by ensuring the data can only be accessed with a key.

10.The CIA Triad:

Confidentiality, integrity and availability, also known as the CIA triad, is a model designed to guide policies for information security within an organization. The elements of the triad are considered the three most crucial components of security.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is roughly equivalent to privacy. Confidentiality is achieved by preventing sensitive information from reaching the wrong people while making sure only authorized people can access it.

A good example of methods used to ensure confidentiality is an account number used for internet banking. Data encryption is a common method of ensuring confidentiality. User IDs and passwords constitute a standard procedure; two-factor authentication is becoming the norm. Other options include bio-metric verification and security tokens, key fobs or soft tokens.

Integrity

Integrity involves maintaining the consistency, accuracy, and trustworthiness of data over its entire life cycle. Data must not be changed in transit, and steps must be taken to ensure that data cannot be altered by unauthorized people.

Some methods might include check sums, even cryptographic check sums along with the data, to check if data has reached the destination without any alterations.

Availability

Availability means that networks, systems, and applications are up and running. It ensures that authorized users have timely, reliable access to resources when they are needed.

Elements of cybersecurity

Ensuring cybersecurity requires the coordination of security efforts made throughout an information system.

1. Network security is the practice of securing a computer network from intruders, whether targeted attackers or opportunistic malware.
2. Application security focuses on keeping software and devices free of threats. A compromised application could provide access to the data its designed to protect. Successful security begins in the design stage, well before a program or device is deployed.
3. Information security protects the integrity and privacy of data, both in storage and in transit.
4. Operational security includes the processes and decisions for handling and protecting data assets. The permissions users have when accessing a network and the procedures that determine how and where data may be stored or shared all fall under this umbrella.
5. Disaster recovery defines how an organization responds to a cyber-security incident or any other event that causes the loss of operations or data. Disaster recovery policies dictate how the organization restores its operations and information to return to the same operating capacity as before the event.
6. Business continuity is the plan the organization falls back on while trying to operate without certain resources.
7. End-user education addresses the most unpredictable cyber-security factor, “People”. Anyone can accidentally introduce a virus to an otherwise secure system by failing to follow good security practices. Teaching users to delete suspicious email attachments, not plug in unidentified USB drives, and various other important lessons are vital for the security of any organization.

Benefits of cybersecurity

Benefits of utilizing cybersecurity includes:

• Business protection against malware, ransomware, phishing and social engineering.
• Protection for data and networks.
• Prevention of unauthorized users.
• Improves recovery time after a breach.
• Protection for end-users.
• Improved confidence in the product for both developers and customers.

Cybersecurity challenges

Cybersecurity is continually challenged by hackers, data loss, privacy, risk management, and changing cybersecurity strategies. Nothing currently indicates that cyber-attacks will decrease. Moreover, with the more entry points, there are for attacks, the more cybersecurity is needed to secure networks and devices.

One of the most problematic elements of cybersecurity is the continually evolving nature of security risks. As new technologies emerge, and technology is used in new or different ways, new avenues of attack are developed as well. Keeping up with these continual changes and advances in attacks can be challenging to organizations, as well as updating their practices to protect against them. This also includes ensuring that all the elements of cybersecurity are continually changed and updated to protect against potential vulnerabilities. This can be especially challenging for smaller organizations.

Additionally, today, there is a lot of potential data an organization can gather on individuals who take part in one of their services. With more data being collected, the likelihood of a cyber criminal who wants to steal personally identifiable information is another concern.

Cybersecurity should also address end-user education, as an employee may accidentally bring a virus into a workplace on their work computer, laptop, or smartphone.

Another large challenge to cybersecurity includes a job shortage. As growth in data from businesses become more important, the need for more cybersecurity personnel to analyze, manage and respond to incidents increases. It is estimated that there are 2 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs worldwide. Cybersecurity Ventures also estimates that by 2021, there will be up to 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs.

Careers in cybersecurity

As the cyber threat landscape continues to grow and emerging threats , such as the threats on the landscape of the internet of things, individuals are needed with the required skills and awareness in both hardware and software skills.

IT professionals and other computer specialists are needed in security jobs, such as:

• Chief information security officer (CISO): This individual implements the security program across the organization and oversees the IT security department’s operations.
• Security engineer: This individual protects company assets from threats with a focus on quality control within the IT infrastructure.
• Security architect: This individual is responsible for planning, analyzing, designing, testing, maintaining and supporting an enterprise’s critical infrastructure.
• Security analyst: This individual has several responsibilities that include planning security measures and controls, protecting digital files, and conducting both internal and external security audits.