What is Cybersecurity? Why is it a Top Priority for Organizations in 2022?
Back in the 80s and 90s, the Nigerian prince scam, the one where a distraught prince promised you a fortune in turn for a small sum of money, was pretty common. Unfortunately, in the years that followed, Cybercriminals only got smarter and more tech-savvy than that.
How do cybercriminals operate?
You’d think that a cybercriminal is probably someone sitting in a small square space in a dimly lit area. Well, let’s break that notion for you.
For the uninitiated, cybercrime is well-planned and organized by an established global criminal industry that rakes in nearly a half-trillion dollars every year. Cybercriminals operate in a similar manner, like other criminal syndications with offices and designated hierarchies, clocking in 9–5.
They use well-established methods to target anything and everyone with a presence on the web/internet.
So, it is a no-brainer that the government and large corporations are spending millions of dollars each year on strengthening their cybersecurity to make it more robust and impregnable.
Well, the bad news is, cybercriminals are, obviously, always a step ahead.
Cybercrime cannot be wiped out from the face of the earth if that’s what you want. But you can undoubtedly curb it by taking cybersecurity measures into account.
So, let us touch base upon cybersecurity concepts, explaining the need and benefits of cybersecurity, and talk about how quality assurance and cyber security testing are instrumental to being prepared and avoiding cyber vulnerabilities in the long run.
Cybersecurity basics: Definition, need, and importance
By cyber security, we mean protecting/securing computers, networks, servers, mobile devices, data, and all kinds of electronic systems from unauthorized access and malicious intent-based attacks.
Attacks include all types of cyber threats, financially motivated cybercrime, politically motivated cyberattacks, and socially motivated cyber-terrorism.
The need for cybersecurity arises from the growing threat of cyber vulnerabilities that can affect operations and businesses and mean financial harm to several organizations.
An organization that invests in stringent cyber security measures, secures itself and stays prepared to combat every kind of data loss and malware attacks. Data includes customer information, personal information, intellectual property, and governmental and industry information systems.
The five key benefits of cybersecurity:
● Secured end users, employees, and the organization at large
● Increased privacy and safety of confidential data
● Improved chances of recovery in case of a cyber attack
● Comprehensive protection of digital assets
● Enhanced confidence in business and improved brand reputation
Types of cybersecurity attacks
Although there are over a hundred types of cybersecurity threats, the following are the most common and frequently encountered:
DDoS Attack- In a distributed denial-of-service attack, cybercriminals send too much traffic to a network or server, thus obstructing it from handling user requests and making the system unstable.
Malware- Malicious software can include any kind of spyware, ransomware, adware, botnets, trojan horses, worms, or computer viruses that can seriously harm the computer. It spreads when users download attachments from unsolicited emails.
Man-in-the-Middle Attack- In this type of attack, cyber criminals intercept communication and data transmission between various people.
Phishing- Phishing is relatively common in the banking industry. Cyber attackers send fake emails that seem highly legitimate to prey on victims’ credit card details and passwords.
Social Engineering- In social engineering, security barriers are broken using human interactions.
SQL Injection- In a structured query language injection, attackers insert malicious code into databases to steal it.
Cybersecurity testing: the ultimate cyber assurance solution
With the growing need for digital transformation of enterprises worldwide, the pandemic has forced companies to adopt new technologies quickly. However, this brings both a flurry of possibilities as well as concerns.
First, every digital asset is susceptible to cyber threats; by moving your networks and servers to the cloud, are they becoming a deer in headlights?
A shift-left software testing approach can introduce cyber security testing into each phase of your app/website development life cycle. This, in turn, helps identify vulnerabilities early on and address gaps in your cyber system. Rather than reacting to a cyber-attack and thinking about what to do later, DevSecOps lets you be proactively prepared to prevent or remediate a cyber-attack.
A cybersecurity test includes a series of automated vulnerability assessments and penetration tests that regularly test your app/system for security breaches or loopholes. In addition, a tailored automation framework created for specific security needs of an application can help embed security into all the layers.
With appropriate cybersecurity testing in place, you can ensure end-to-end system security and easy risk mitigation. Cybersecurity testing solutions are necessary to protect client-side, server-side, and third-party code libraries.
Takeaways:
Cybersecurity is ultimately everyone’s responsibility. All stakeholders involved with the system, including employees, customers, owners, and the organization at large, have a role to play in securing the digital asset in question.
Security testing plays a pivotal role in determining the usability and reliability of an application. Choosing a good and experienced cybersecurity testing provider can help you stay a step ahead and prepared to withstand any impending cyber-attack.
