introduction
Changes to technology and how it is evolving on a global scale, personal and corporate customers have gone from being the last holdouts on moving to the digital age to being first in line to enter.
Whether it’s because you are being forced through mergers and acquisitions into a “new age” or you want to just be ahead of your competition, it is important to protect your data as you transition from a traditional offline business model to an online-based business.
Cybersecurity can be defined as taking steps to prevent unauthorized access into your business and the subsequent consequences of a breach or misuse of that data. In a rapidly changing environment with thousands of people using the same computer/network, it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine what data is accessible to whom. In many instances, anyone with a computer will have some level of access to your business and private information.
As we move closer to the reality of having overlap between the physical world and the electronic world (cyber threats), we must consider the various types of cyber threats, the tools that are used to defend against them and what best practices we can employ to protect ourselves and our businesses.
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H2: Cybersecurity & Today’s Digital Threats
Cybersecurity is the term to define the methods, technology and processes to protect digital assets against being accessed without permission (or authorized access), or harmed or lifted and exist as digital assets. Digital assets can include personal data, financial data, intellectual property, and critical infrastructure.
H3: Common Cybersecurity Threats
Technology changes quickly and so do the different types of risks. Below are some common risks:
Malware: Malicious software such as viruses, worms, spyware and ransomware use to destroy or steal your data.
Phishing attacks: Fraudulent e-mails and/or messages to obtain passwords or account numbers from users; such as but not limited to requesting user names, passwords, account numbers from users.
Ransomware: Attackers encrypt your data and then demand a ransom paid before you are provided access to it.
Data breaches: Unauthorized access to sensitive data from someone outside the organization, such as but not limited to a hacker accessing data from an organization’s data base.
Denial of Service (DoS) attacks: Attempts to overload the system and make it unavailable.
For instance, a phishing e-mail that uses the identity of a legitimate company may cause an employee to act upon. They would click on the link contained within the phishing e-mail and provide attackers access to the entire corporate network.
H3: The Differences with Today’s Threat
Cybercrime is unlike “traditional crime” because cybercrime:
Scalable – One attacker can target thousands, millions or tens of millions of potential victims.
Anonymous – Attackers can work across international boundaries with essentially low-risk identification.
Fast-moving – Automated tools and technology have the capacity to compromise systems almost instantly (within seconds).
Given these facts, cybersecurity is critical to the success of modern technology, and therefore is a critical component of business.
Header 2: Tools and Technologies for Cybersecurity to Secure Digital Assets
Using multiple technology solutions in unison is necessary because one solution alone will not effectively defend against cyber attacks.
Header 3: Cybersecurity Technology
Each industry uses core tools or solutions that serve critical functions such as the following:
Firewalls — Protecting networks by blocking incoming and outgoing traffic.
Antivirus and Anti-Malware — Detecting and removing known threats.
Encryption technologies — Secure data by encoding it into an unreadable format.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS) — Monitoring networks for suspicious activity.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) — Providing users with multiple forms of verification beyond just a password.
As an example, if an organization utilized encryption methods to encrypt sensitive data, a hacker would be able to take the data but not easily read or use the data if they successfully stole the encrypted data.
Header 3: Advanced Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity threats are becoming more advanced than ever before, and organizations are implementing advanced cybersecurity technologies to combat these threats. For example, organizations are utilizing:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) tools to detect abnormal user or device actions.
Cloud security platforms to help secure their data stored in the cloud.
Endpoint security tools to help safeguard laptops and mobile devices as well as smart devices connected to the Internet.
The difference between how organizations approach cybersecurity now as compared to years ago is that existing technology is focused more on preventing, detecting, and responding to potential cybersecurity risks rather than responding after a breach has occurred.
H2: Best Practices for Cybersecurity for People or Organizations
While there are many tools required to make cyber security work, the human factor continues to represent one of the weakest areas of cyber security flaws. Following best security practise will limit risk while improving your overall cyber defence.
H3: Best Security Practise for the Individual User
An average user can enhance their security and lower their risk by adopting some simple behaviours, including:
The use of strong and unique passwords per account.
The use of multi-factor authentication wherever possible.
Not clicking on links you are not sure of or downloading files you do not know.
Keeping software and operating systems up-to-date.
Regularly backing up data to a separate system.
An excellent example of this would be using a strong password with multi-factor authentication; should someone steal your password through a database leak, the cyber criminal would get no further than your password due to multi-factor authentication.
H3: Best Security Practise for Business
Businesses are at a higher stake value and, therefore, require an organised approach, including:
Performing regular security assessments or audits.
Training your employees about cyber security awareness.
Implementing access controls based on job responsibilities.
Having plans in place for responding to incidents and recovering from incidents.
Complying with applicable industry standards and regulations.
Most of the older security models rely on perimeter type defences and assume that a breach will not occur. Modern security best practises, therefore, assume that a breach has happened and are focused on resilience and recovery from the breach.