Cybersecurity and its importance
In 2013 Yahoo was hacked by a group of attackers. They stole the data of 1 billion users from Yahoo’s portal. Everyone was shocked. They wondered how someone can steal data from one of the top tech companies in the world. This incident showed that anyone, big or small can be prone to cyberattacks and it is imperative to keep yourself safe from these attackers.
Robert Mueller, former FBI director, rightly says –
“There are only two types of companies: those that have been hacked, and those that will be”
If you don’t want to be either of these companies, then you need to employ adequate cybersecurity measures in your organization.
In this post, we are going to understand what is cybersecurity and why is it so important for your organization. We will also look into its benefits and understand what are the consequences you face when you don’t invest in cybersecurity.
Table of Contents
- What is cybersecurity?
- What are the types of cyberattacks?
- Why is cybersecurity important?
- Final thoughts
What is Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is the combined protection of hardware, software, and the residing data from cyber threats. These so-called cyber threats may include hackers and competitors who might try to steal the data from your organization. If you observe the businesses around, you will realize that almost every single one of them employs strict measures for maintaining their cybersecurity.
Everyone from banks, hospitals, government agencies to tech companies invest in heavy infrastructure to uphold their cybersecurity. It’s safe to say today that cybersecurity has become a necessity in this digital world.
What are the types of Cyber Attacks?
Cybersecurity is implemented to provide good security to computers, servers, networks, and data stores from cyberattacks. These attacks can range from data theft to data deletion, so it’s safe to say that there is more than one type of cyberattack. Let’s take a look at all the types of cyberattacks in detail.
Malware
Malware includes a list of malicious software that is designed to break into a network and obtain sensitive information. Apart from stealing data, malware can also attach to your network and cause a malfunction in your devices. Malware usually finds its way into your network when you install an application from an unsafe developer or when you click on a suspicious link. It can get into your network and communicate with a host situated outside your network. Malware can also block your passage to vital business networks in the system, making it redundant.
Phishing
Phishing is the most common threat in the world, as it is easy to execute. This method is often used in emails. This email is usually sent with the names of famous organizations in the industry. Once someone receives this email, they click on the link, and sensitive data is immediately collected. This data includes everything from credit card details, social security numbers, and private login information.
Social Engineering
Social engineering is also another common method used by data thieves and hackers. In this method, the hacker creates a credible-looking email or a voice note to send to the victim. Once this tool is ready, they can use this to gain your trust or invoke your curiosity. Once you give in to their highly scripted techniques, they will gradually venture into asking you for personal information. This may include credit card details, bank login information, and social security passwords. Social engineering is all about gaining your trust and manipulating you to give your private details. You can find hundreds of chilling stories of people scammed by social engineering.
Man-in-the-Middle Attack
This is a cyberattack that is quite common over insecure networks. The attacker breaks the security of networks like public Wi-Fi’s and goes on to steal your data. Once the hackers break into the Wi-Fi, they can steal all the data from your device. This is done by inserting themselves as the middle man between your device and the Wi-Fi network. Cybercriminals use this method to view someone’s information without ever getting caught. In a man-in-the-middle attack, there is a very minimal chance of you recognizing the attack when it happens.
Zero-day attack
This is something most cybersecurity companies and agencies have been at fault for the past few years. When you create a system for implementing cybersecurity, there are bound to be some gaps and faults in the system. This is quite common and the engineers work around the clock to fix these bugs and errors.
Sometimes these agencies tend to announce these errors and bugs publicly before coming up with a solution. This is done to maintain transparency and gain trust in the eyes of the client. But when this information falls into the hands of hackers and data thieves, they use this as a chance to wreak havoc. They take advantage of the bugs to steal data or manipulate it, all before the cybersecurity agency and engineers roll out an update.
Why is cybersecurity important?
Cybersecurity helps you in the following ways -
- Protection from malware, ransomware, phishing, and social engineering.
- Prevention of unauthorized users into your networks and servers.
- Data Protection for the users of your products and services
- Improved confidence in your organization for customers.
And if you don’t pay attention or invest in cybersecurity, then it may lead to the following problems -
Economic Costs
A successful cyberattack will result in the loss of precious data and information. Due to data loss, you will be forced to stop your employees from working while you assess the severity of the attack. You will also lose time to fix the aftermath of these attacks. Finally, you will also need to pay for damages that occurred to your software and hardware.
Loss of trust with customers
When your organization undergoes a cyberattack, you will be slammed by your customers and investors. They will lose trust in your organization due to data that was stolen.
Regulatory costs
Some GDPR laws will require you to pay fines for data breaches in your organization. You also risk being framed for criminal intent if the sources point to your negligence, to set up a sustainable cybersecurity system.
Final Thoughts
The main idea you need to understand here is that cybersecurity is important. If you don’t start investing in it right now, you’ll lose more than just data. You’ll lose the trust of your customers, you’ll lose money from your business, and maybe even risk losing your business.
Work on your cybersecurity infrastructure from this moment and educate your employees about how cyberattacks take place in the world. Employ the best measures of cybersecurity and always stay safe from impending cyberattacks.