What is cybersecurity & Why you should care about it
Introduction
More than 5.18 billion users are on the Internet worldwide. These users contribute to creating around 330 million terabytes of data daily. Computers and computer networks (cyber) power this by facilitating digital data storage, processing, and transfer. But with this great power that Cyber provides us comes the risk of attacks and the responsibility to protect oneself from those attacks. We need to create awareness about cybersecurity best practices and responsibilities because of the rate at which cyber-attacks happen. Therefore, with this blog, I aim to explain the power of cyber, the risks of cyber attacks as an individual, an employee, and as a business, and your responsibility when it comes to Cybersecurity.
The Power
Computers are powerful machines. When the Internet was born in the late 1900s, it redefined the use of computers. It enabled a new way of communication and data exchange, which led to the transformation of many physical assets like currency, documents, photos, and data into digital assets, thus forming the world of “cyber.” To define more precisely, Cyber is anything of, relating to, or involving computers or computer networks (such as the Internet)[1]. The power of cyber is the storage, processing, and transfer of digital assets. However, many digital assets like passwords, money, intellectual property, trade secrets, and user data are precious, and we must protect them. Cybersecurity is securing these valuable digital assets and the underlying infrastructure from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft. Now that you understand the power of cyber and what Cybersecurity is, let’s examine the risks associated with cyber and the potential consequences of people’s lack of awareness about Cybersecurity.
The Risk
You might argue why you should, as an individual, care about Cybersecurity. Aren’t digital asset holders responsible for protecting the assets? Or why would an attacker target you instead of other bigger sharks? Although your arguments are valid, it still doesn’t change the fact that you hold many valuable things that an attacker could steal due to your poor cyber hygiene. For example, your money, credit card numbers, bank account details, or online identity, to name a few.
Furthermore, many cyber-attacks target a wider audience who lack cybersecurity knowledge. Cybercriminals mostly rely on attacks like social engineering (manipulating individuals to perform an action that might compromise security) to get information or access to people’s devices. For example, “phishing” attacks — which involve sending deceptive emails or messages to trick individuals into revealing personal/confidential information — are conducted against thousands, if not millions, of people. As a result, many people lose their money, identity, passwords, private information, and much more. Therefore, it is important to understand that Cybersecurity is also important at an individual level.
Employees might also argue about their importance when it comes to Cybersecurity. You might feel that your contribution to the company’s Cybersecurity is insignificant. However, that is not the case — attacks like “Social Engineering” target company employees to get initial access to a company’s system. In fact, human error causes around 85% of security breaches, which is why security experts always say that “Humans are the last line of defense against cyber criminals.” That includes every single employee or staff. So the next time you report a spam email in your company inbox, know you are the superhero who prevented a cyber-attack.
Companies, businesses, and establishments are responsible for protecting their users, employees, and staff’s digital assets. Thus, it is important to look at every vendor, product, software, hardware, and even employee activity through the lens of cyber security. Furthermore, it is important to understand that cyber criminals don’t see the size of a business. Attacks like phishing target hundreds or thousands of people, some of whom can be your employees. Therefore, it is important that every business, small or large scale, takes effective measures against cyber attacks. It is important to reduce your business’s attack surface — paths via which an attacker could exploit threats — by measures like employee training.
The Responsibility
Now that I’ve convinced you that Cybersecurity is important, let’s look at how you can learn more about Cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is easier than you think it is. Small things like being current on recent cybersecurity attack trends are beneficial. Learning about Cybersecurity can be as easy as listening to related podcasts while commuting or adding Cybersecurity to your news keywords. Suppose Cybersecurity mesmerizes you as much as it does me. In that case, you can watch YouTube videos or read more articles like this. You can even talk to colleagues, friends, and partners about a hilarious scam you heard about and how to protect yourself from it. Since cybercriminals don’t discriminate between people, software, or devices, spreading awareness about Cybersecurity is essential. Know that being able to tell the difference between a phishing email and a normal one is a superpower. So, the next time you hang up a phishing call or report a scam email, know you are a superhero who saved someone from a cyber attack.
References:
[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cyber
