How Cybersecurity Works

Jennifer J. Soileau
4 min readSep 14, 2021

and why is Cyber Security important?

Defining Cyber Security

Cyber security refers to the collection of methodologies, technologies, and procedures used to safeguard the privacy and safety of computers, data, and networks against those that seek to do harm. The primary goal of cybersecurity is safeguarding all assets from any and all threats threats.

Because an organization’s assets are made up of a variety of heterogeneous systems, a strong cyber security posture necessitates coordinated efforts across all of its systems. As a result, cyber security can be divided into the following subcategories.

Types of Cybersecurity

Identity Management

Identity management refers to the structures, procedures, and activities that enable lawful persons to access information systems inside an organization. Implementing robust information storage methods that assure data security at rest and in transit is part of data security.

Network Security

The implementation of both hardware and software measures to safeguard the network and infrastructure against unwanted access, interruptions, and abuse is known as network security. Effective network security aids in the protection of an organization’s assets from a variety of external and internal threats.

Mobile Security

Mobile security refers to safeguarding the personal data of businesses and individuals held on mobile devices such as laptops, smart phones, tablets, and other similar devices from risks such as unauthorized access, device loss or theft, malware, and so on.

Application Security

The implementation of different defenses in all software and services utilized within an organization against a wide variety of threats is known as application security. To reduce the possibility of any unwanted access or alteration of application resources, it necessitates creating secure application architectures, developing secure code, implementing robust data input validation, threat modeling, and so on.

Data Recovery

Data Recovery deals with procedures, monitoring, alerts, and strategies that assist businesses to prepare for keeping business-essential systems online during and after a catastrophe, as well as restoring lost activities and systems.

Cloud-based Security

Cloud security refers to the creation of secure cloud infrastructures and applications for businesses that use AWS, Google, Azure, Rackspace, and other cloud service providers. Protection against diverse dangers is ensured by effective design and environment setting.

User Training

Formal training on computer security issues is critical for increasing understanding of industry best practices, organizational processes, and regulations, as well as monitoring and reporting harmful activity. Skilled training is especially important as a measure of cybersecurity for businesses.

Why is Cyber Security Important?

The technological landscape is evolving faster than ever, and the fact that software adoption is increasing across a wide range of industries makes cybersecurity a necessity for not just businesses but also individuals. The “Internet of Things” has created a vast interconnected network that allows us to communicate and share ideas from across the world, but it’s also given cybercriminals new ways to steal our data.

To cybercriminals, our data is quite valuable, which is why it is critical to secure it with robust cyber security methods and processes.

The necessity for strong cyber security measures becomes obvious when we look at recent high-profile security breaches in T-Mobile, which lost very sensitive customer information and suffered catastrophic financial and reputational harm. Even major companies like Apple, Sony, Microsoft, and Amazon have suffered data breaches in the past. The fact of the matter is, nobody is safe. As the data suggests, the number of cyber-attacks is on the rise. Attackers target both large and small businesses daily to gain sensitive information or disrupt services.

As we enter a new technological revolution, there are still many obstacles that cybersecurity faces. When software is upgraded and modified, it gives rise to new problems and vulnerabilities, making networks susceptible to an entirely new breed of cyberattacks. Furthermore, IT infrastructure develops, with many organizations now moving their on-premise systems to the cloud, introducing a new set of design and implementation challenges, as well as a new category of vulnerabilities. Companies are often ignorant of the numerous threats that exist inside their IT infrastructure, and as a result, they do not implement cyber security countermeasures until it is much too late.

What is a Cyberattack?

A cyberattack is a calculated attempt by external or internal threats or attackers to undermine the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of a target organization’s or individual’s information systems. Cyberattackers employ unlawful techniques, tools, and approaches to cause damage and disruptions to computers, devices, networks, apps, and databases, as well as gain unauthorized access to them

How Businesses Can Prevent Cyberattacks

Cybersecurity Training.

Employees must be trained to understand what they are up against. Often an expensive security breach can appear simply due to employee negligence, and proper training can help avoid this. The greatest approach to decrease carelessness and the risk of a security breach is to educate workers and raise knowledge of business rules and security best practices through seminars, workshops, and online courses.

Encrypt Your Data

Strong encryption techniques should be used to store and transport any sensitive data. Data secrecy is ensured by encrypting it. In addition, effective key management and rotation procedures should be implemented. SSL/TLS should be used by all web apps and software.

Back up your data

Backing up all data regularly will enhance redundancy and ensure that no sensitive data is lost or compromised in the event of a security breach. Data integrity and availability are jeopardized by attacks like injections and ransomware. In such circumstances, backups can be useful.

Two-Factor Authentication

All workers should be required to use two-factor authentication and strong passwords that correspond to industry-accepted standards. Employees should also be required to be updated regularly to safeguard against password breaches. Furthermore, the use of salts and strong hashing methods should be followed while storing passwords.

In Conclusion

The world is currently at the brink of the next technological revolution, thanks to innovations such as blockchain and artificial intelligence. As cybercriminals find new ways to target our data, cybersecurity must rise to meet these new challenges.

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Jennifer J. Soileau

I am a writer that’s writing for more than a decade. I have transformed numerous ideas and research into words for multi-dimensional products and services.