What is Cybersecurity?
According to the reports, there is a hacker attack every 39 seconds. Furthermore, over 30,000 websites are hacked every day globally. So yes, with the advancement in technology, security has become a crucial aspect.
These cyberattacks can affect any business level. Government organisations, large enterprises, and SMB’s have sensitive information like personal information, financial information, and data. The exposure of this information can drop the value of a company. So, there is a need to establish a security culture in the organisation, and that is where Cybersecurity comes in. It can help in protecting organisational data by preventing, monitoring, and managing risks.
However, to help you know more about Cybersecurity and why it is important – here we have compiled everything about Cybersecurity, its importance, and its advantages.
Let’s dive in.
What exactly is Cyber Security?
Cybersecurity is the technique to protect information, data, systems, and networks leveraging the technologies and practices from malicious attacks. Organisations and businesses are now becoming more reliant on technology. With this reliance, the security control implementation is now the need of the hour to protect sensitive information and prevent unauthorised access.
Types of Cyber Attacks
The list of most common cyberattacks is as follows.
Phishing
In phishing, attackers send emails to the user as a trusted and legitimate source to get personal information like passwords, credit card information, and or any other sensitive information. The attacker sends a fraudulent message along with the attachment that will transfer a malicious virus whenever a user clicks on it.
Malware
Malware is an effective and surprising cyberattack designed to infect systems and cause destruction. From taking control over your system to hacking sensitive and confidential data, the malware can lead to serious damage by secretly footing your system. There are different types of malwares, including Trojan Horses, Ransomware attacks, and Drive-by attacks.
DDoS Attack
In DDoS Attack, the hacker attacks the user system by launching malicious software from multiple resources. Unlike other hacking attacks, it is an attempt to make the system, service, or network temporarily unavailable by interrupting the activities. It is usually done through remotely controlled systems or bots.
SQL Injection
As the name says, it is specific to SQL databases. In this cyberattack, a hacker inserts SQL injection by manipulating database queries to get the website access to sensitive information. Any SQL query that is vulnerable to attack can cause serious damage to the confidentiality of the data leading to the full control of databases.
Cryptojacking
Cryptojacking refers to the malicious use of the system to mine cryptocurrency where users have no idea that their machine is being used. It can be done through phishing techniques or injecting scripts on a website.
Password Attack
A password is like the lock of your device that keeps intruders keep away. However, in Password attacks, the hacker tries to hack or steal your password to access confidential data. It has been seen that 81% of hacking attacks were due to compromised and insecure credentials. There are different ways of password attack, i.e. phishing, credential stuffing, and key loggers.
5 Types of Cyber Security
Here we have rounded up a list of the top 5 types of cyber security to help businesses to know which areas are vulnerable to attacks and how to cope up with the malware affecting business reputation.
Network Security
Network Security refers to the measures and practices to protect the networking infrastructure of an organisation from malicious attacks and unauthorised access. Moreover, it ensures secure data and information sharing and protects networks from threats. There are different network security methods includes access control, virus & anti-virus software, firewall, VPN, and encryption.
However, experts suggested the following measures to ensure network security
Enable Network Security and Latest Security Patches Updates
Use Strong Passwords
Enable Two-factor Authentication
Secure Private Network and Router
Install Network Firewall to Protect Against Attacks and Threats
Keep your Software and Hardware Up-to-dated
Application Security
Different web applications and software are now connected to the cloud and vulnerable to attacks and threats. Application security is the measure and practices implemented to protect the application from cyberattacks. By ensuring the application security controls, a programmer should apply security practices before the code is deployed. The application security techniques include two-factor authentication and authorisation, data encryption, time-stamped logging, and testing.
The best application security practices are as follow
DevSecOps Approach to Detect Security Holes in Code
Monitor Open-Source Vulnerabilities
Automated Tests to Minimise the Risks
Secure your Application Assets
Encrypt Data and Ensure Accurate Validations
Cloud Security
Cloud storage is the most efficient way to save data that allows users to store information/data at an online remote location instead of local storage. It renders multiple benefits like accessibility, usability, and Synchronisation. However, still, it needs security measures to protect cloud data and monitor it for suspicious malware and malicious attacks. Cloud security methods include obfuscation, tokenisation, Firewalls, VPN, and pentesting.
The best practices for cloud security include
Security Logs
Encrypted Data with Secure Endpoints
Choose the Right Cloud Vendor
Monitor and Perform Penetration Test
Manage Cloud Access Control
Apply Cloud Security Policies
Operational Security
Operational Security or OPSEC involves the risk management that enables IT Security managers to assess and monitor operations for malware and hacking attacks. The main goal of operational security is to protect sensitive information by preventing hackers and attackers. OPSEC also helps in improving processes for potential risks and vulnerabilities. From identifying the sensitive data, the threat level to analysing vulnerabilities and devising a strategy to reduce the risks, Operation Security is helping organisations in protecting their information and customer data.
The best practices of OPSEC are as follow
Leverage Technology to Keep Data Secure and Private
User Access Control and Privileges
- Deploy Dual Control
- Restrict Multiple Device Accesses to a Network
Automate the Processes to Minimise Risks
Conclusion
Whether you are a small business or large enterprise, it’s important to have Cyber Security Incident Response plan. As Ginni Rometty (CEO IBM) said that
Cybercrime is the greatest threat to every company in the world
An organisation should ensure infallible Cybersecurity measures and protocols to protect information and prevent potential cyber-attacks.
We hope the article has helped you in answering your cybersecurity-related questions. However, if you want to implement high-level security controls in your company, then IT Nation can be your stop. With a team of experts, we can help you in establishing cyber security mechanisms tailored to your business needs.